


certainty

by faerialchemist



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Adora Has Issues (She-Ra), Catra is a cat, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Iron Man AU, MORE 5+1!, Marriage Proposal, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fic, Shared Trauma, Sleepovers, The Author Regrets Nothing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Tumblr Prompt, adora gets an undercut, adora is beautiful and catra is easily distracted by this fact, also catra steals adora's shirt haha, and adora loves her for it, but catra (and perfuma) is there to help, catradora, everyone blushes at some point, i have to write my feels out, i just love them so much, mostly comfort, or kinda ;), some sweet scorfuma too they're adorable, they're awkward lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:48:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24235318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faerialchemist/pseuds/faerialchemist
Summary: (Contains SPOP season 5 spoilers!)Catra was certain of only two things, she decided, one being how much she loved Adora and how much Adora loved her. The other was just as simple. Maybe even more so.“Everything is going to be okay, isn’t it?”Adora laughed, and God if it wasn’t the most beautiful sound Catra had ever heard. “Yeah. I think it is.”(A collection of Catradora fluff prompts.)
Relationships: Adora & Bow & Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora & Bow (She-Ra), Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow & Catra (She-Ra), Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 79
Kudos: 706





	1. kiss kiss fall in love

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: smitten kissing and flirting in bed (from transversal-callum on tumblr)
> 
> i LIVE for soft post-canon content. i also do not know how to title things. enjoy :)

~*~

It was amazing how long Adora could sleep in. A little annoying, too, as Catra hated being the only one awake in the giant bedroom at Bright Moon, but it wasn’t like she could really hold it against her. Transforming into an eight-foot tall warrior goddess that channelled all of Etheria’s magic out of the heart and back into the world less than a day ago could understandably knock a person out, even if it had been awe-inspiring to witness at the time.

Catra had chosen to remain in bed with her still-slumbering girlfriend. Deep down she knew that while she could have gotten up and gotten dressed and gone downstairs to have breakfast with the princesses and it would have been fine, a part of her was hesitant to face them with the comforting presence of Adora. So, she stayed. Besides - it was amusing to watch Adora sleep. She kept mumbling and kicking out at some dream foe.

It was cuter than Catra would ever admit to her face.

Glimmer had come to check on them, once, as the sun continued to rise higher in the sky. Catra had faked being asleep, but her enhanced hearing still caught the girl humming in contentment and whispering, “Well, they need their rest,” before she left and quietly shut the door behind her.

Perhaps Adora more than herself, Catra mused, but still true.

At one point Catra rolled over onto her side to look at her girlfriend as she slept, and found her face getting red at the mere thought.

Girlfriend. Wow.

She almost couldn’t understand how she’d been so lucky - ‘almost’ being the key word because she knew if Adora was anything she was unconditional. She’d always believed in her, even when Catra was at her lowest point. Not that this knowledge made her feel _less_ lucky, of course. It still didn’t feel real to say that her girlfriend was the legendary She-Ra.

But after eons of telling herself that she hated Adora, couldn’t stand her, blamed her for everything that had gone wrong that in reality she herself had caused, and then to finally admit that all that time she’d _loved_ Adora, she was _in_ love with her, she always had been and always would be, and then to learn Adora loved her, too… It was surreal. She’d already pinched her arm to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

Adora grumbled something in her sleep, flinging her arm out and nearly hitting Catra, which was suffice to say enough to snap Catra out of her awestruck reverie. She hissed instinctively, dropping flat on her back to avoid getting smacked in the face.

Adora’s hand then fell down to her side, and a satisfied smile formed on her sleeping features. Maybe she’d defeated whomever she was dream-fighting.

Catra waited a moment to make sure her girlfriend wouldn’t unconsciously attack her again before returning to her position of resting on her side, bracing her head on her right arm. Adora’s hair had fallen straight across her nose and over her lips, and Catra sighed in amusement as she gently pushed it away.

Adora wrinkled her nose at the touch, and Catra felt the blood rush to her face when she heard her whisper, “Catra…?”

Sleep talk. “Embarrassing,” Catra grumbled to herself, but she still moved closer to Adora’s side, locking their hands together and burying her face in Adora’s shoulder.

This movement seemed to finally wake Adora, which Catra mildly regretted but was mostly relieved to see.

“Mm… Good morning,” she said, giving Catra’s hand a gentle squeeze and smiling at her softly with sleepy eyes.

Catra snorted. “Barely.”

Adora frowned, confusion flickering on her face. “Barely good, or…” She trailed off, yawning. “Or barely morning?”

“Oh, definitely good,” Catra purred into her girlfriend’s shoulder. “But not morning. It’s almost noon.”

Adora groaned and tried to sit up, though Catra threw her free arm over her chest to prevent her from doing so. “Why didn’t anyone wake me up? There’s so much to get done today.”

Catra smirked, lifting her head slightly to better look at her. “Well, _you_ of all people are in desperate need of beauty sleep, so -”

“Oh, shut up,” Adora laughed, grabbing her pillow from behind her head and hitting Catra with it.

Catra’s response was to hiss, mock-glaring at her as she tried to pull away, but in doing so started to fall off the edge of the bed. Adora, considerably more alert than when she’d first woken up, sat up and grabbed her girlfriend’s hand before pulling her back onto the mattress, tugging her into her chest when they were both left sitting upright on the bed.

“Stop falling off of things,” Adora murmured, one hand resting on Catra’s lower back and the other gently stroking her short hair.

Catra’s face had turned a shade darker than scarlet, and she was silently thankful Adora was holding her closely and couldn’t see her blushing. And, well… She liked being close to Adora. “First of all, you’re one to talk about falling off of things,” she grumbled, but there was no bite in her voice. “Besides, I have you to catch me.”

Adora’s body stiffened, her hand pausing on the back of Catra’s head.

Catra leaned back slightly to look up at her. “You okay?”

Adora sighed, moving her hand away to push loose strands of hair out of her face. “Yeah. Just…” She gave her a gentle, if weak, smile. “In shock, I guess?”

‘Shock’ was probably an understatement for the traumatic experiences they’d all endured, but Catra didn’t want to talk about any of it yet. From the looks of it, Adora didn’t want to, either. Catra could tell what Adora was thinking, anyways - what if she _hadn’t_ been there to catch her? What if she hadn’t saved Catra from Horde Prime? What if, what if, what if?

Catra knew her girlfriend was thinking about subjects like that because she herself had been consumed by _what if she hadn’t been with Adora to activate the Failsafe_ and other… distressing thoughts only an hour or so earlier, while Adora had still been asleep.

“Understandable.” Catra took a turn pushing Adora’s hair out of her face and behind her ear, giving her girlfriend a gentle smile that made her feel terrifyingly vulnerable. But with Adora… She didn’t mind. As much, at least. “But we’re here now. Together. It’s over.”

Adora managed a laugh, wiping a stray tear from her eye. “God, shouldn’t I be the one comforting you? At least - at least I’m in a familiar place with people I’ve known for ages and it wasn’t like I was the one chipped by Horde Prime and yet -” Her voice cracked, and her gaze dropped to the space between them. “And yet _I’m_ a mess.” She sighed, wiping her face again. “Sorry. I know I’m just insecure and stupid.”

Catra rolled her eyes, and she lifted Adora’s chin to meet her gaze. “You’re not stupid, Adora. Don’t beat yourself up about this. We’ve _both_ been fighting a war since before we could walk.” Ugh. Now _she_ was feeling weepy. Stupid emotions. “And don’t act like either of us has had it worse or whatever, okay?” They’d always be there to comfort each other, anyways, so long as Catra had anything to say about it.

Adora placed her free hand on top of Catra’s, guiding her girlfriend’s hand up from her chin to cup her face, closing her eyes and leaning into it. “Thank you.”

Catra blushed, and she knew her tail had started flicking faster to keep up with her racing heart. “Yeah. You’re, uh, welcome. Or whatever.”

Her blush deepened as Adora laughed. “Aw. You’re so cute when you’re flustered.” Both of her hands moved to Catra’s waist. “Makes me want to kiss you again.”

There was a pause. Catra was fairly certain her heart stopped beating for a good ten seconds.

Then Adora’s face turned a deep pink, her eyes widening. “I - okay, wow, that was really forward, I’m so sorry. I don’t - I don’t want to rush you into anything you don’t want to do -”

“You can,” Catra interrupted. “Kiss me. Again.”

Adora blinked. “Really?”

Catra rolled her eyes, trying and probably failing to act collected and nonchalant about the matter. “Believe me, I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mean it.”

Adora hesitated, anxiety flickering in her eyes. Catra seized the moment to take initiative, leaning forward and draping her arms over Adora’s shoulders as she placed an intense kiss on her lips.

Adora hummed in delight - a ridiculously adorable sound - and deepened the kiss, her grip tightening on Catra’s waist to pull her in closer.

Adora’s lips were chapped, and Catra knew her own couldn’t have been much better, but there was something so blissful about kissing her beautiful, badass girlfriend without the threat of the planet’s destruction looming over their heads. Catra wouldn’t have traded this moment for the world.

And when Adora finally pulled away, Catra was mortified to hear herself purring loudly, with her embarrassment only exacerbated by her girlfriend’s knowing smirk. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything!”

“You were thinking it.”

“Oh _please_.”

Catra did what she knew best to counter Adora’s teasing - she pounced on her, in true cat-like fashion. Adora burst out laughing and held her arms up to defend herself, and the two wrestled and rolled over and both ended up falling off the side of the bed and onto the floor.

Adora landed on top, her hands on either side of Catra’s shoulders to brace herself and not crush her girlfriend.

Catra’s face had reddened as a result of the… position they’d landed in, but was comforted by the blush painted on Adora’s face, too. Such casual intimacy was not unfamiliar to either of them, but the change in their relationship made everything simultaneously more exciting and more embarrassing.

Catra found herself staring at Adora, soaking in her appearance - her gray tank top and white shorts, her blonde hair falling free around her shoulders. God, she was beautiful. Ethereal, even without the glowing power of She-Ra.

How had Catra gotten so lucky?

Adora gently ran her hand over Catra’s bangs. “I still can’t believe you love me,” she admitted. “I mean, I _know_ you do. But it… still feels too good to be true.”

Catra sat up, Adora moving backwards and off of her to allow them to sit face to face again. “Yeah. It does.” Raised in the Horde, they were both taught that there was nothing a person inherently deserved. Everything had to be earned. And it was hard, maybe even harder for Adora, but it was a mindset they were both gradually unlearning. “But I do. Love you.” She slipped her hands into Adora’s. “A lot.”

Adora smiled, and she leaned forward to press their foreheads together. “I love you, too.” Her smile widened. “A lot.”

Catra was certain of only two things, she decided, one being how much she loved Adora and how much Adora loved her. The other was just as simple. Maybe even more so.

“Everything is going to be okay, isn’t it?”

Adora laughed, and God if it wasn’t the most beautiful sound Catra had ever heard. “Yeah. I think it is.”

~*~


	2. will that be all?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prompt: au (requested by anonymous on tumblr)
> 
> me, chanting: IRON MAN AU IRON MAN AU IRON MAN AU (aka the au no one asked for but the one i wanted to write)
> 
> HI = Horde Industries

~*~

“Hey, Adora - don’t forget you have a teleconference with Hordak tonight,” Catra said as she walked into the lab, marking off something on her clipboard. “I’ve already prepared all the documents you’ll need for the meeting because I know you don’t have the foresight to do that yourself.”

Adora groaned at the thought of dealing with HI business, especially involving Hordak. “Can’t someone else do it?” She paused in tinkering with the various electrical parts in front of her. “Like you?”

Catra rolled her eyes. “Obviously I normally would, but I have tonight off, in case you’ve forgotten.” She clicked her pen shut. “I know you’re utterly incapable without me, but you’ll have to make do for a few hours.”

Adora stood up from her worktable, brushing the front of her pants off before walking over to Catra, a frown creasing her lips. “Why are you taking tonight off?”

Catra laughed, the hint of irritation in her voice making Adora wince. “I’m allowed to have off on my birthday, Adora.”

“Oh. Today’s… your birthday.”

“Mhm. That’s what I just said.” She tucked her pen into the pocket on the front of her shirt.

Adora chewed her lip, shoving her hands into her back pockets. She hadn’t meant to forget. She just… hadn’t grown up with any importance placed on birthdays. “Buy yourself something nice from me, then.”

“Oh, I already did.” Catra smirked as she removed the first paper on top of her clipboard and handed it to Adora - a to-do list for that evening. “Thank you. It was a wonderful gift.”

“It’s nice, I take it?” Adora asked, begrudgingly accepting the paper while simultaneously unable to stop herself from wondering what ‘she’ had bought for Catra.

“It’s amazing. Brings out the blue in my right eye.” She chuckled. “You have impeccable taste.” Catra then glanced at her watch. “Will that be all, Adora?”

A chill always ran down her spine when Catra said her name. She couldn’t keep her eyes off the woman’s lips. “That will be all, Catra.”

There was a lingering silence between them where neither moved, but the ringtone that suddenly blasted from Adora’s phone startled them both out of their reverie. Catra gave her a familiar smirk before leaving, and it took all of Adora’s willpower to stop herself from watching her go.

“What do you want, Glimmer?” Adora grumbled as she answered the phone.

Glimmer snorted. “Well, by that tone I can tell I interrupted you and Catra flirting, didn’t I?”

“You know as well as anyone that Catra and I’s relationship is strictly professional.”

“A blatant lie, but I really don’t have time to argue with you right now. You’re an entire hour late for our flight!”

“Please. It’s my personal jet,” Adora scoffed. “It’s not like it’s going to leave without me.”

“Just get over here stat before you drive me any further to the brink of insanity.”

“Yes, _mom_.”

~*~

“Light Hope, what _is_ it?”

“It is a sword, Adora.”

“Don’t make me reboot you.”

There was a pause, and if an AI could sigh, Adora had a feeling Light Hope would have. The only noise in the room was the low humming of Light Hope’s system as she scanned the sword.

“It is made of a rare metal,” Light Hope finally said. “Vibranium, I believe it is called. And there are inscriptions along the handle in a ‘forgotten’ language of the ancient Etherians.”

Adora frowned. “First Ones?”

“Correct.”

She tapped her fingers on the table, the sound muffled by her gloves. “Is there any way to translate the inscriptions?”

“Only fragments of First Ones’ writing have survived. However, given time, I can compile a list of all known translations of these writings and see if any applies to the symbols on the sword.”

Adora nodded. “Yes. Do that, please.” She stared at the sword, resisting the urge to pull off her gloves and pick it up. “Also, scan it for radioactivity and anything else that might be dangerous. I want to know if I can touch it bare-handed.”

“Certainly.”

As the AI got to work, Adora tried and failed to tear her gaze away from the blade. Something in her still wanted to grab it and try to interpret the inscription herself, as if somehow an ancient sword was going to fill the void inside her -

“Adora, why the hell do you have a giant sword in here?”

Adora jumped at the sudden voice, turning around to see Catra standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. “I told you to _knock_ before you come in here.”

“Yeah, right,” Catra scoffed, walking around a worktable to get to Adora. “If I knocked every time I came down here, you’d be dead because I wouldn’t have been able to save you from the stupid things you’re always doing.”

“I have never done anything stupid in my life.”

“You have done _everything_ stupid in your life.”

Adora rolled her eyes in what was probably a very childlike but nonetheless cathartic manner. “What, and you haven’t?”

“Not since you hired me!” Catra hissed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Look, what is even going on down here? You get back from a war zone and the first thing you do is start looking at new weapons? Are you kidding me?”

“It’s not a _new_ weapon,” Adora protested, which sounded pathetic even to herself. “It’s a First Ones’ sword. So it’s an _old_ weapon. And all I’m doing is having Light Hope run a few scans on it, okay?”

“What you need to be doing is helping me figure out what we’re doing with the press,” Catra argued. “Everyone is clamoring to know why HI wants to drop out of weapons manufacturing the war against the Rebellion!”

Adora winced at the mention of the war, her mind flashing back to what she’d witnessed HI’s own technology doing to innocent people. Destruction she alone was responsible for. “I know, I know. But right now -”

“I am detecting strange molecular activity from the sword,” Light Hope interrupted.

As if on cue, the sword began to glow with a dim white light.

“Uh, that’s not radiation, right?” Adora asked, instinctively taking a step away even though a part of her wanted to move closer and observe the blade. She was really losing her mind.

“It does not appear to be radioactive,” Light Hope replied as the sword began to glow and pulsate with greater intensity.

“Literally, _why_ do I still work this job?” Catra grumbled, massaging her temples as she glared at the sword warily.

“Because I can’t function without you,” Adora said, stepping between Catra and the sword, keeping an eye on the glowing blade. “But maybe you should consider getting out of here -”

“God, you need to take a break from - from _this_!” Catra snapped, gesturing to the entire room. “There’s HI business to take care of, Shadow Weaver is breathing down both our necks, and _dammit_ , Adora, I’m really worried about y-”

The room was suddenly filled with a blinding white light emanating from the sword, and Adora jumped out to grab Catra, tackling her to the floor as the sword hissed and sparked and all the lightbulbs in the room exploded.

When the bright light from the sword faded, Adora was able to clearly see the icy glare Catra was directing at her. The awkwardness was only intensified by the rather… intimate position in which they’d landed, with Adora on top and Catra below her.

“Uh…” Adora winced. “In my defense, I did not know that was going to happen.”

~*~

“And you’re sure it’s safe to touch?”

“As certain as I can be, Adora.”

Adora hesitated, then shrugged. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” She pulled off her gloves, then carefully picked up the sword. For such a large blade, it felt surprisingly well-balanced in her hands. “Any updates on a translation of the inscriptions?”

“Yes,” Light Hope replied, sounding as pleased as an AI possibly could. “From what I can determine, the words translate to ‘for the honor of Grayskull’.”

“‘Grayskull’? What’s that?” Or who, Adora supposed.

“Regrettably, I could find no information on that term. But I am still searching.”

“Thanks, Light Hope.” Adora exhaled slowly, running a finger over the symbols carved into the golden handle. “‘For the honor of Grayskull’, huh?”

Out of nowhere, power surged through Adora’s body, strength flowing through her veins as the room was filled with a blinding light not dissimilar to the one from only days earlier.

When the light faded, Adora’s reflection in the glass walls of her lab was no longer her own. A much taller and much blonder woman stood in her place.

Adora somehow managed to bite back a scream of horror as she stared in shock at the stranger who vaguely resembled her, the sword falling from her hands and clattering on the ground at her feet. “Light Hope,” she said through gritted teeth, trying not to panic, “what the hell just happened?!”

“You appear to have transformed into the legendary hero ‘She-Ra’,” Light Hope replied. “I have run diagnostics, and you do not seem to have suffered any ill effects from such. This transformation is likely connected to the words you spoke while holding the sword.”

“Oh, you think?” Adora groaned, her fists clenching. Magic sword. No big deal. “Is there anything in recorded history about She-Ra? Something that could be related to why I am now… her?” All things considered, she thought she was remaining pretty calm about everything. “And how I can turn back into myself?”

“There is extensive documentation. Would you like me to sort through it?”

“Yes. Separate what you think is relevant so I can go over it personally, please.”

“Certainly, Adora.”

An hour or so later, Adora - or should she call herself She-Ra? - was lying atop one of her worktables, surrounded by files with the umpteenth manilla folder in her hand as she tried to force herself to continue reading about She-Ra and her magic sword. Really, all she’d learned so far that her transformation was a result of ancient First Ones’ magic or heavy LSD.

Ugh. Her eyes were starting to glaze over. She needed a nap.

“Hey, Adora, are you - _oh my God who are you_?!”

Adora yelped and fell off the table at the sound of Catra’s voice, landing uncomfortably on her back as the same glittering light from before surrounded her and finally returned her to being -

“Adora?! You were - glowing - giant - what?!”

Catra’s voice was an octave higher than usual, which Adora had to pretend wasn’t simultaneously hilarious and adorable.

Adora sighed, not even bothering to move from where she’d fallen upside down on the ground, paperwork scattered around her and the sword next to her head. “Let’s face it. This is not the worst thing you’ve caught me doing.”

Catra simply buried her face in her hands.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is definitely an au i am open to expanding in the future. pepperony's dynamic fits catradora so well!! also i just. love iron man lmao. thank you for reading :)


	3. undercut gang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prompt: adora gets an undercut and asks catra if she likes it (from iamwalkingdead1 on tumblr)
> 
> hello this is ENTIRELY self-indulgent fluff. enjoy :)

~*~

Catra knew _something_ was going on. She’d walked in on Adora and Glimmer whispering to each other multiple times, but as soon as they saw her they’d snap out of it and act like they hadn’t just been not-so-subtly plotting in a corner. Normally she wouldn’t have thought much of it, chalking it up to Sparkles being weird, but Adora was laying her denial on _thick_. And her girlfriend, bless her heart, was the worst at acting.

And yet, despite how obvious they were being that they were planning… well, something, they had done a surprisingly good job so far at not revealing what, exactly, those plans were. Which irritated Catra to no end. Why was she excluded?!

“Okay, enough secrecy,” Catra snapped, cornering Adora one day in an annoyingly pastel-colored corridor of Bright Moon, placing her hands against the wall on either side of her girlfriend. “What have you and Sparkles and Arrow Boy been talking about for the past week?” And why am I not a part of it, she added silently.

“Uh…” Adora was avoiding eye contact with her in such an obvious fashion it was almost physically painful to witness. Dammit, Catra hated the two inches in height her girlfriend had on her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Catra hissed, her tail flicking in frustration, and she had to resist the urge to drag her nails down the wall. Glimmer probably wouldn’t appreciate her defacing the palace with claw marks. “Adora, you are the _worst_ liar.”

“Psh, _what_ , I am not _lying_! I would never -”

Catra silenced her with a glare. “Fine. Don’t tell me.” Her hands fell down to her sides, her fists clenching and her nails digging into her palms. “See if I care.”

Adora hesitated, something akin to regret flickering in her eyes, but her expression soon morphed to… affection as her gaze shifted away from Catra’s face. She reached out, her hand brushing the edge of her girlfriend’s jaw before gently fingering the ends of Catra’s hair. “It’s longer,” she said quietly. “Are you letting it grow out?”

Catra silently berated herself for blushing at the sudden physical contact. Stupid Adora. Stupid feelings. But she found her hand instinctively moving to rest on top of Adora’s. Her girlfriend was right - her hair was now less than an inch above her shoulders. “Maybe,” she finally muttered. “I don’t - I don’t know what length I like best.”

Adora chuckled, pulling Catra’s hand down to hold it properly. “Not to be a disgusting sap, but I think you look great with any haircut.”

Catra tried to scowl, but she was pretty sure the effect was ruined by how red her face had to be. “Well, that _was_ disgusting. Never say it again.”

Adora burst out laughing, and she tried to pull her girlfriend closer to her. “But Catra, you’re just so cute!”

Catra hissed. “Shut up! I am not cute!” She yanked her hand away and sprinted down the hall, quite literally running away from her feelings. But she didn’t fail to hear Adora’s laughter increase as she started to chase after her.

“Get back here, you cute cat! Ooh, alliteration.”

“No! Leave me alone!”

It wasn’t until later, when they were both lying on the floor of their bedroom panting in exhaustion with tears of joy and laughter streaming down their faces, that Catra realized she was still yet to figure out what Adora was hiding from her.

She turned her head to glance at her girlfriend, who was wiping tears from her eyes, her signature goofy grin wide on her face. Catra felt warmth blossom in her chest - a warmth she was getting more and more used to feeling.

Well… she supposed she could wait for Adora to tell her whatever it was that was going on. She trusted her. And patience was a virtue, after all - one Perfuma was helping her to get better at practicing.

Apparently the universe decided to reward her for her attempts at self-improvement, because Catra found that she did not have to wait long at all for Adora’s… plot to be revealed.

“I don’t want to go to this stupid dinner!” Catra yowled, glaring angrily at a certain queen of Bright Moon. “ _I_ am not a princess. I don’t understand why I need to be there!”

Glimmer sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. “Perfuma is hosting this _celebration_ , okay? It’s not just a formal dinner, or else I would tell you to stay here if you really didn’t want to go. It’s to denote that it’s been a year since the defeat of Horde Prime. _All_ parties who helped the Rebellion are invited. Including you, whether you like it or not.”

“Well, I don’t like it.”

“I just said that doesn’t matter!”

Catra resisted the urge to smirk. Not teasing Glimmer was almost as hard as not teasing Adora. In other words, she often failed on both accounts.

Glimmer then sighed, uncrossing her arms. “Look, Adora wants you there. You’re right - you don’t _have_ to go. I won’t make you. But Adora is going regardless of whether or not you are, so if _you_ want to put a damper on her evening by staying behind, be my guest.”

“She doesn’t need me to have fun,” Catra snapped.

“I didn’t say she _needed_ you. I said she _wants_ you with her.”

Ugh. Catra hated it when Glimmer was right, which happened more often than she gave the queen credit for. “Fine.” She sent her friend another glare. “But you are not getting anywhere near my hair with that - that _thing_.”

Glimmer rolled her eyes. “It’s just a brush, but fine.” She shoved it at Catra. “At least do it yourself. Or have Adora do it. Whatever.”

Catra snatched the brush out of her hands, raring to fire back a snarky comment -

“Adora’s ready!” Bow poked his head into the room, his eyes practically glittering in excitement as he beamed at the two. “Not to flex about my abilities, but I think I did a pretty good job.”

Glimmer’s mood changed so fast it was like someone had flipped a switch in her body. “Ooh, yes!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “I’m so excited!” She then teleported out the door.

Catra was frozen in the middle of the room, unsure of whether she should follow or not.

Glimmer seemed to realize this, as she appeared back inside for a split second and simply said, “Stay,” before teleporting back out again.

Catra frowned at the command, irritation causing her to clench her jaw. Why wasn’t she allowed to see Adora? The hell was going on?

Her enhanced hearing picked up on a familiar squeal followed by, “Oh, Adora! It looks so good!”

Catra then heard Adora laugh. “Aw, thanks. But really, credit goes to Bow. I could not have been trusted to do this myself.”

“Adora. Please. You’re making me blush.”

There was a pause. Then she heard Adora quietly add, “Do you think Catra will like it?”

Catra’s eyes widened.

“Well…” There was a teasing lilt to Glimmer’s voice, and Catra could practically envision her familiar smirk. “Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

Catra instinctively took a step back despite that she was still standing in the middle of the room, her gaze dropping to the ground as she heard the creak of a person opening the door. “Hey, Adora.”

There was the sound of footsteps moving closer, and soon golden sandals entered Catra’s peripheral vision.

“You okay?” Adora asked, and although Catra wasn’t looking at her she could still picture the way her girlfriend’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. “If this is about Perfuma’s party, I know Glimmer was putting a lot of pressure on you to come, but if you really don’t want to you absolutely don’t -”

“No, it’s not that,” Catra grumbled, her grip on the brush tightening. “Of course I’m not letting you go without me, dummy.”

“Okay,” Adora said slowly. Catra could practically see the way her girlfriend’s lips pursed in confusion, though she kept her eyes firmly trained on the ground. “Then why won’t you look at me?”

Catra didn’t know how to answer that question.

_A deep-rooted, internalized fear of change_ , she could practically hear Perfuma say. She ignored the voice.

Adora gasped. “Oh my God, I get it. You saw it already and you hated it and you just didn’t want to tell me!” She groaned. “I’m so sorry, Catra, I wanted to talk you about it before it happened but Glimmer and Bow thought it would be more fun to surprise you and -”

“They - you - what? I haven’t seen -” Catra looked up, confused, and her voice vanished in her throat as the pieces finally fell into place. _That_ was what Adora had been planning. “You cut your hair?”

Adora’s face reddened, and her hand moved up to touch the back of her head where her blonde hair had been shaved down in a neat undercut. “Yeah. I wanted to… try something new, I guess?” Her blush deepened, and a mixture of hope and anxiety flickered in her blue eyes. That combined with her girlfriend’s new haircut was enough to completely short-circuit Catra’s brain. “Do you like it?”

Catra knew that if she tried to speak immediately all that would come out was a strangled “ergm”, which was obviously code for she liked the haircut a lot, probably way too much, but she didn’t want the message to get lost in translation. By the time her neurons kicked back into gear, she was pretty sure her face was as red as Adora’s.

She ended up dropping her head onto her girlfriend’s shoulder, mumbling, “It looks… really good.” Her voice was muffled. Not that she was complaining. Why did complimenting Adora always have to feel so embarrassing?

_Because you are making yourself vulnerable by expressing affection openly_ , Perfuma’s voice said again, which Catra continued to ignore.

“Catra, if it’s that bad you can just tell me,” Adora said, amused, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend’s waist. “In all honesty, that would probably hurt Bow’s feelings more than mine.”

Catra lifted her head slightly, though again she adamantly avoided making eye contact with Adora. “No. I said it looks really good.” This was mortifying. “I like it. A lot.”

“Aw, really?” Catra finally looked up to see that Adora was beaming at her, her blue eyes wide with joy and relief. “That makes me so happy.”

Catra’s tail twitched, and she found herself dropping the hairbrush she still held to grab the front of Adora’s dress and pull her into a rough, hasty kiss.

Adora stared at her, speechless, when Catra let go, but shock soon transformed into a mischievous smirk. “Wow. I should have cut my hair _ages_ ago.”

“Ugh!” Catra growled, her face a shade darker than scarlet as she grabbed Adora’s hand and began dragging her out of the room. “Let’s just go already, before Sparkles can yell at us for being late.”

Adora allowed herself to be pulled along, though she was practically snorting with laughter along the way. “I’m serious. If I had known you’d react like _that_ , I would have taken up on Rogelio’s offer to cut my hair at the Fright Zone!”

“Shut up!”

Catra was suddenly spun around, her girlfriend pushing her against the wall of their bedroom. The mischievous smirk was back on Adora’s lips. “Make me.”

Catra gulped.

Looked like they’d be late after all.

~*~


	4. nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> obligatory hurt/comfort about their nightmares and shared trauma. please read with caution if you are uncomfortable with ptsd-related content! stay safe xx

~*~

They both had nightmares.

It was to be expected, of course. After everything they’d been through. Not that this knowledge made it any easier for them to cope with it.

Catra dreamed of Horde Prime, mostly. Of being alone in space. The ritual. Submersion into the glowing green water, her lungs being filled and then emptied by a chip that robbed her of the little autonomy she had left. Shadow Weaver, sometimes, too.

Worst were the dreams where Catra pulled that lever, the lever that had torn a hole in reality and resulted in Adora - no, She-Ra - fixing her with the deadliest, iciest, most painful glare she’d ever had the misfortune of receiving. Those nightmares always resulted in her waking up with a racing heart, gasping for breath and certain that Adora had never forgiven her, certain that she was still trapped on Prime’s ship with no one to turn to, certain that she was alone.

Adora quickly figured out the best ways to comfort her girlfriend after nightmares, for which Catra had never been able to truly express her gratitude, though she suspected Adora already knew.

If she was panicking, breathing exercises were best. Inhale five counts, exhale five counts. Paranoia was countered with physical touch, Adora clutching her close to her chest and letting Catra bury her face in her shoulder. It was… grounding was the best way to describe it, reminding Catra that someone was _there_ , was _with_ her, that she _wasn’t_ alone.

Anger was the most challenging to address. Catra often shoved her girlfriend away, claws and teeth bared, a low growl rumbling in her throat while her tail flicked back and forth like mad. Adora, the goddess among mortals that she was, would simply wait, patiently giving her time to cool down before smoothing the bed beside her and reminding her that she was there whenever Catra was ready.

And every time, Catra would crawl back over and curl up next to her beautiful, amazing girlfriend, and Adora would scratch behind her ears and really the mild embarrassment about how nice that felt was enough to remind Catra that she was alive, that Adora was with her, and that they’d both be okay.

Adora’s nightmares were… different. That much Catra was sure of. And while Catra lay mostly still in her sleep, Adora had always been a thrasher - a tendency only heightened by the intensity of her nightmares.

She didn’t dream much about the Fright Zone anymore. At least that was what she’d told Catra. And it wasn’t that Catra didn’t believe her. Not at all. She just… worried.

Adora said most of her dreams were about losing the war. Not being able to save her - no, _their_ \- friends from danger. From death. And whenever her girlfriend woke up in tears, Catra would just hold her as tightly as she could, providing a comforting purr if she could muster it, because she knew those were the dreams where Adora had failed to save her.

The worst of Adora’s nightmares, the ones most excruciating for Catra to witness, were always about the Failsafe and the Heart of Etheria.

Phantom pain.

Adora would wake up screaming, her arms clutched around her body as she tried and failed to breathe, often breaking out into a coughing fit as the white hot magic of Etheria burned through her and told her that there would never be relief from its agony.

Catra had felt powerless at many points in her life, but never so much as when she watched her girlfriend bear the weight of the world on her shoulders night after night and even though they both knew the pain wasn’t real at the same time it _was_ real and God, all Catra could do was whisper words of comfort to her, reminding Adora how much she loved her and that she was _there_ for her, right there, she _promised_.

They’d both confided in Perfuma about their nightmares, sparing her the more grisly and the more personal details. And Perfuma’s advice had helped immensely, there was no denying it, but each of them knew their bad dreams would never be eliminated entirely. At least, not for a long, long while.

Sometimes they both had nightmares.

Those nights were the worst.

They probably made for quite a sight, Catra would often muse afterwards, clutching each other like they were afraid they’d disappear into dust. Crying on the other’s shoulder, begging them not to let go for fear they’d never come back. Those were the nights neither of them could fall back asleep, which they’d dealt with in a… variety of ways.

Exploring every nook and cranny of Bright Moon, finding different ways onto the roof of the palace to admire the stars, baking - if it could be called that - a midnight snack while trying not to laugh too loudly, kissing until neither of them could feel their lips. Regardless, those nights all became day in the same way.

“I love you,” Adora would whisper, Catra’s head resting on her shoulder as they sat on their bedroom’s windowsill together to admire the rising sun.

Catra would always start purring at that, which at least now was slightly - _slightly_ \- less embarrassing only because she knew how much Adora liked it. “I love you, too.”

Their hands would intertwine, and every time they did so Catra became more and more certain that they could overcome their nightmares. Together.

It wasn’t easy, of course. Far from it.

But they had each other. And knowing they had someone to lean on made it all the less painful to bear.

God, Catra loved her.

They both had nightmares, true. It was to be expected, what with everything they’d endured. But all bad dreams eventually came to a close, ending with the break of day.

And Adora was Catra’s dawn, her second chance, just as much as she was Adora’s. They were each other’s happy ending.

~*~


	5. a time long since passed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prompt: what adora and catra talked about in their sleepovers at the horde (requested by anonymous on tumblr)
> 
> aka some good pre-relationship fluff. love it love it love it. there's no specific time this is set - maybe 6 months to a year before Adora left the Horde? it's pretty much up to you how you read it :)

~*~

“Ugh. Training was _brutal_ today.” Adora collapsed backwards onto her bunk, wincing at the jolt of pain that ran through her shoulder and earning a startled “mrp!” from Catra, who was lying at the foot of the bed. “I’m gonna be sore for a week.”

Catra resettled herself before rolling her eyes at her friend’s dramatic reaction. “ _You’re_ the one who stayed for extra practice, Adora. Practice that you definitely don’t need. So really, you have no one to blame but yourself.”

Adora tried to shift from where she was lying, wincing as her left shoulder started to cramp. Maybe she’d pulled something after all, ouch. “There’s no such thing as ‘unneeded’ practice. If I have any hopes of being promoted to Force Captain, I have to prove to Hordak and Shadow Weaver that I’m capable of working harder and doing better than anyone else!”

Catra’s nose wrinkled in disgust at the mention of their… superiors. “Come _on_ , Adora. You don’t need to prove your worth to anyone, much less _them_ of all people.”

Adora groaned as she rolled over onto her stomach. “You’re just saying that because you’re my friend.”

Catra frowned, sitting up to observe her, her tail flicking back and forth in an almost mesmerizing fashion. “Uh… You okay?”

“Yup. Totally fine.” Adora dropped her face into her pillow, muffling her voice. “Don’t you need to be getting back to your bunk? It’s… really late.” Like, after-midnight late.

Catra snorted. “Right. Because I’m just going to leave you while you’re in denial about some injury you caused yourself.”

Adora simply grunted in response. Now that her adrenaline rush had faded and she wasn’t jumping around and dodging the virtual princesses and their not-so-virtual weaponry… ugh. She was starting to feel some of those blows.

“Plus…” Although Adora refused to remove her face from her pillow, she didn’t have to look up to imagine the way that the corners of Catra’s lips had curled up into a mischievous smirk. “I filled Kyle’s shoes with mushed up ration bars, which means I have to hide wherever you are so Rogelio doesn’t come after me.”

_That_ revelation got Adora to lift her head. “Aw, Catra! You said we were going to do that together,” she said accusingly, though her voice did sound whinier than she would have liked. “Or did you forget that we planned to hide in the vents afterwards to wait and watch him put his shoes on?”

“Well, you were too busy practicing without me,” Catra snapped. “I’m _so_ sorry that I didn’t feel like waiting for you, Your Highness.”

Adora didn’t miss the way her friend’s ears flattened and how her eyes dropped to the floor - she always did that when she was upset. “Catra…” She tried to keep her voice gentle as she pushed herself up into a sitting position, ignoring what felt like fire coursing through her left shoulder. “I thought you were okay with waiting until I was done training today.”

“I was!” Catra’s tail flicked faster - she was either angry, anxious, or lying. Given the context, possibly a combination of all three.

“Really? Then why’d you put ration bars in Kyle’s shoes without me?” Adora sighed, rolling her eyes. “Catra, if you would just be honest with me we could figure out -”

“Shut up! I told you I don’t care!” Catra growled. She shoved Adora away, which was certainly not an action unfamiliar to either of them, but Adora’s bruised body and newfound shoulder injury did not take kindly to the sudden forceful contact.

She was barely able to bite back a pained groan as she hit the wall behind her - regrettably left shoulder first - and the sound instead more came out a muffled squeak. Adora instinctively reached up to grab her injured shoulder, hissing slowly and muttering a curse under her breath. Okay. So she probably hadn’t _pulled_ anything, but it was starting to feel pretty clear that she had at least bruised the bone. Her arm was still too mobile for it to have been a dislocation.

As the pain gradually dulled from the impact and the static faded from the edges of her vision, she looked up to see Catra staring at her in horror - no, at her _arm_ \- before jumping to her feet and bolting out of the room.

“No, Catra!” Adora shouted, reaching out with her uninjured arm as if she could somehow catch her friend. “Wait!”

Catra didn’t wait. She never did, even when they were little kids. But old habits died hard, and Adora knew exactly where Catra had gone to hide.

“Alright, Adora,” she muttered, trying to brace herself for the inevitable pain that standing up would bring. “You got this.”

She forced herself to get to her feet, wincing but biting her tongue, determined to remain silent and not alert anyone to what she was doing. She was _definitely_ not going to accidentally show Shadow Weaver her injuries. That never ended well.

After walking around in circles for several minutes and doing some stretches to get her blood flowing, Adora found the pain to be considerably more bearable. Still, she’d have to avoid using her left arm for the next week so it could heal. That in itself was almost more annoying than the pain of the injury.

Adora then grabbed her pillow and her blanket from her bunk, tucking the two bags of chips that Lonnie had gotten smuggled into the Fright Zone inside the blanket to hopefully decrease the chances of them being discovered even if she herself was caught.

Catra’s typical hideouts weren’t far from Adora’s ‘room’, which she’d always teased Catra about, telling her it was a sign that her subconscious couldn’t bear to be too far away from her even when she was angry. Catra heavily denied this theory, but as she denied most things she was too embarrassed to admit, her reaction really only enforced the theory as true in Adora’s mind.

Catra was exactly where Adora had suspected she’d be - huddled behind three half-empty oil barrels and a pile of assorted scrap metal, legs pulled to her chest and body facing the wall.

“Predictable much?” Adora said, unable to keep amusement out of her voice as she ducked her head to get in before sitting down next to her friend, leaving about a foot and a half of space between them. “Were you really just going to come here and sulk until morning? At least the bunks are more comfortable than a concrete floor.” She paused. “Well, not by much, but -”

“God, don’t you ever shut up?” Catra grumbled, making a point of turning farther away from her. “I obviously came here to be alone, so get the hell away.”

Adora bit back a sigh. Catra was so easy to read. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt me,” she finally said, her voice quiet. “And I know that I should have been more honest with you about how I _may_ have overworked myself. Just a tad.”

“I told you to go _away_ , Adora!”

“I don’t take orders from you,” Adora retorted. “Besides, I already brought everything except my mattress with me, so no, I’m not going anywhere except to sleep. Right here.”

A familiar growl rumbled in the back of Catra’s throat, and her hand flashed out like lightning as she dragged her claws down the wall in front of her. She then slowly turned around, her ears flat to her head. “You _never_ listen to me.”

“Psh, that is not true,” Adora said with a snort as she fluffed her pillow. As much as that sad piece of fabric could be fluffed, anyways. She then placed it on the floor so she could rest her head on it later. “I just only listen to you when you have good advice, and we both know those moments are few and far between.”

Catra rolled her eyes, her ears slowly moving back upright. “I definitely remember telling you _today_ that practicing extra would end badly, which I was _right_ about, but you were all like ‘no, Catra, I need to _impress_ everyone so they love me even _more_!’”

Adora snickered at her friend’s terrible impression. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I said. And I sounded _just_ like that.”

“Shut up. You did!”

“Uh huh. Uh huh. Sure, no. Great job.” She then smiled at her. “But fine. You _were_ right about that. However, I feel the need to point out that a broken clock is still right once a day.”

Catra glared at her, but all the tension in her body had dissipated, and there was no real anger in her eyes. “Hardy har har. You think you’re so funny.”

Adora grabbed the blanket she’d brought, dropping the two bags of chips onto the floor before laying the blanket over her legs. She then lifted the left corner to reveal the space still between her and Catra. “Care to join me?”

Something… soft flickered across Catra’s face, but it was soon replaced by her typical ‘I don’t care about anything’ expression. She did, however, slide under the blanket next to Adora, their backs both resting against the oil barrels that shielded them from view of anyone walking down the hall.

Adora offered her one of the bags of chips, but Catra refused, adamantly avoiding eye contact with her. Adora, long since used to her friend’s… well, that was pretty normal behavior for Catra, so she simply shrugged and opened a bag for herself, the crunch of her eating the only sound in the otherwise silent hallway.

“Do you want to steal all of Kyle’s belts tomorrow?” Catra suddenly blurted, an unmistakable blush growing on her features.

The seeming randomness of the question as well as Catra’s borderline-aggressive asking startled Adora and then prompted her to burst out laughing, which made Catra’s face turn a darker shade of red. “Oh my God. So his pants will either fall down all day or he’ll have to borrow one of Rogelio’s belts, which won’t be even _close_ to fitting him.” She was snorting with laughter at this point, and had to wipe a stray tear from her face. “ _Obviously_ I want to do that.”

Adora could tell that Catra was trying to pretend it was no big deal that she’d agreed, but she knew her friend’s habits too well. Her ears had perked up - she was happy. “Cool. It’ll be fun.”

“It’ll be _hilarious_ ,” Adora countered, grinning. She then gave Catra a softer smile. “And I accept your apology for pranking Kyle today without me. No hard feelings.”

“I - I didn’t apologize for anything!” Catra protested, her face growing redder by the second. “I’m not sorry I pranked Kyle without you!”

“Uh huh. Sure you’re not.”

Catra glared at her, but her glare soon morphed into a mischievous smirk as she snatched a handful of chips from Adora’s bag.

“Hey!” Adora turned her body away, clutching her chips to her chest. “I offered you your own bag, and _you_ turned it down! You don’t get to steal any of mine just because you missed your chance.”

“But I don’t _want_ a whole bag.” Catra began eating the chips she’d stolen before grinning at her. “I just wanted a few. And yours were readily available.”

Adora sighed. Well, it wasn’t like they didn’t _always_ end up sharing food. “Fine. But you’re ridiculous.”

“You’re one to talk, Miss ‘I wanna be Force Captain so badly I’m willing to break my arm’.”

“I didn’t _break_ my arm. I just bruised my shoulder a little.” Catra glared at her. “Okay, a lot. But I’ll be fine in a few days!”

“Yeah, well, have fun hiding it from Shadow Weaver until then. It was nice knowing you.”

Adora winced. She was not looking forward to that.

Catra seemed to notice her expression, as she groaned and rolled her eyes dramatically. “Ugh, _fine_. I’ll help you hide it from her.”

Adora beamed. “Aw, really?”

Catra glared at her again. “This is _not_ because I like you. I just don’t want to see you pouting for the next week because you think you ruined your chances of becoming Force Captain. You’re annoying when you’re sad.”

Adora was tempted to fire back a teasing comment, but a more serious question nagged at the back of her mind. “Do you think I did?” she asked quietly. “Ruined my chances, I mean.”

“Oh my God, Adora, really? Are you kidding -” Catra glanced at Adora, who tried not to flinch under her friend’s gaze. “Oh. You’re… serious.”

“It - It doesn’t matter,” Adora hastily said, embarrassed at her moment of insecurity. Ugh, she could feel her face getting red. “Forget I said anything. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Hey.” Catra’s voice was gentle, a tone unfamiliar to most who knew her. Except Adora. “You are more qualified than any other cadet here to be Force Captain, okay? A little injury that I bet you’ll shake off before the end of the week doesn’t change that.”

Adora stared at her for a moment, then felt a bashful grin breaking out across her face. “You really think so?”

Catra snorted. “Um, _duh_.” She then poked Adora’s nose - carefully, so as not to scratch her. “But don’t you dare tell anyone I said so. _Ever_. I’ve worked too hard to perfect my ‘I don’t give a shit’ persona for you to ruin it with one sentimental moment.”

Adora laughed, and she slid down some from sitting upright in order to lean her head against Catra’s shoulder. “Aw. I knew you liked me.”

“Oh, whatever,” Catra grumbled, though there was no bite to her words. “You’re only fooling yourself.”

Adora couldn’t help but sigh in contentment. “You’re my best friend. You know that, right?”

Catra stiffened, and Adora began to panic and wondered if she’d accidentally taken their emotional openness a _step_ too far, but then she felt Catra relax. “Yeah. I know.” She hesitated, then rested her head on top of Adora’s.

For Catra, that was a huge step forward in… er, being able to connect to other people at all, really. And not wanting to ruin the moment, Adora simply smiled, pulling the blanket up closer to both of them. The blanket’s warmth combined with the dull vibrations of Catra’s quiet purring was enough to make her drowsy, and soon she found her eyelids fluttering shut. The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was the feeling of someone’s hands slipping gently into hers.

Adora smiled.

Everything was perfect.

~*~


	6. catra is a very complex character. but also, literally just a cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prompt: adora reflects on the peculiarities of catra's cat traits (from anonymous on tumblr)
> 
> this rapidly turned into "five times adora thought about catra's cat traits plus the one time catra learned adora's favorite". fun fact: this is the first 5+1 i've ever written!

~*~

1\. _ears_

Bow was right about many things, as much as that often amused and annoyed Glimmer. In this case, he was specifically right about how cute Catra was, although Catra seized every chance to deny it.

Adora, of course, thought her girlfriend was cute all of the time, from when she got whipped cream on the tip of her nose to when she blushed at even the simplest compliments because Adora _loved_ getting her flustered. But there was something especially adorable about Catra when she was sleeping. Maybe it was the relaxed expression on her face - the way she looked free of all the pressures her new life and Bright Moon was inevitably putting on her. The fact that sunlight broke through the windows and decorated her girlfriend’s face with a warm, ethereal glow was an added bonus.

They had a tradition of sleeping in together, at least once a week. Just to bask in each other’s presence without anyone else looming over them. Adora was notoriously bad at sleeping in, however, at least when she was well-rested, which meant it was more Catra sleeping in while Adora sat awake and found ways to keep herself busy until her girlfriend rejoined the land of the living.

Currently, she was running her hands through her girlfriend’s newly-shortened hair, as Catra’s head was resting on her lap as she snored quietly.

It was adorable.

While the circumstances of Catra’s haircut couldn’t have been much worse, Adora would be lying if she said she didn’t like the new length. But Catra wanted to grow it back out, which meant Adora would support her the entire time. Including brushing her girlfriend’s fluffy hair because Catra hated to do it herself.

She gently scratched behind Catra’s ears, revelling in the deep purr the action resulted in. Adora loved being the only person who got to touch Catra’s ears. It was the highest reward she could have ever received, and perhaps the best perk of the promotion, as it were, to being Catra’s girlfriend. Another added bonus was that Catra’s purring was Adora’s favorite sound in the world.

Adora also loved how expressive her girlfriend’s ears were. How Catra could say one thing but her ears would reveal she meant something entirely different. Her favorite instance of such was every time Catra got embarrassed, she’d try to put on a tough, uncaring facade, but her ears would flatten to the sides of her head and give away just how flustered she was.

It was _so_ endearing, and Adora loved to remind her of that fact.

“Mm,” Catra hummed in contentment, stretching out and pushing her head up into Adora’s hand before rolling over to look directly up at her. “Good morning.”

Adora smiled at her. “It definitely is.” Unable to resist, she scratched behind Catra’s ears again, her smile turning into more of a satisfied smirk as her girlfriend’s purring increased. “Sleep well?”

Catra yawned. “Only because you were with me.”

Adora rolled her eyes. “And you call me the sap.”

“Well, that’s because you are.” Catra sat up to face her girlfriend directly, and Adora would have been lying if she said she didn’t already miss the warmth of Catra’s head resting on her lap. “But I am _trying_ to take Perfuma’s advice and be more forthcoming with emotional honesty, so I’d appreciate it if you could be more receptive of my attempts.”

Adora snorted. Typical Catra - mixing snark and sentiment from minute one of waking up. But she loved that duality of her girlfriend, as biting as it could be. So instead of replying, she reached out to scratch behind Catra’s ear yet again, barely managing to hide her smirk as Catra leaning into her hand and purred so loudly Adora could feel the vibrations through her palm. There was nothing more satisfying than seeing Catra melt into a state of pure contentment.

“It’s not cute,” Catra mumbled, her eyes still shut.

Adora couldn’t keep the wide grin off her face. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You were thinking it.”

Only a _little_. “You know,” Adora said, changing the subject, “you ears are really soft.” Not that Catra’s other fur was coarse, but her ears were like silk.

Catra opened one eye. “And? Your point?”

Adora shrugged, moving her hand down to cup Catra’s face, gently brushing her thumb beneath her girlfriend’s open eye. “Nothing. It’s just nice.”

Catra snorted. “You’re such an idiot.” But her voice was soft.

Adora laughed. “I know.” She leaned forward to press a kiss to the top of Catra’s head. “But at least I’m your idiot.”

“Yeah,” Catra mused before closing the distance between their lips. “I guess so.”

2\. _tail_

“Catra, it’s going to be _fun_!” Adora insisted. She really didn’t understand why her girlfriend was being so stubborn about the issue. “Glimmer is right that we all need a break, and Mermista is being generous enough to host a weekend getaway for all of the princesses, so why can’t -”

“Well I’m not a princess, Adora,” Catra snapped, crossing her arms over her chest as her tail flicked angrily behind her. “What is so hard to understand about ‘I don’t want to go’? There’s no secondary explanation or reason - I would literally just prefer to stay here. It’s not that complicated.”

Out of the corner of her eye Adora could see Bow not-so-discreetly mouth _we should go_ to Glimmer, who ignored him and looked like she was using all of her willpower to stop herself from jumping into the argument.

“Look,” Adora said, clasping her hands together and trying to keep her tone as level as possible. “Everyone is under a lot of stress right now, Catra. Including you. It is healthy for all of us to take a break and let off some steam, and a break is more fun when we’re all together. Therefore, I think it would be beneficial for you to -”

“Oh, shut _up_!” Catra growled, her tail going ramrod straight. “I am _not_ going to Water Girl’s stupid little seaside resort, okay? End of discussion!” She spun on her heel and tried to storm out of the room, but was stopped as Glimmer teleported between the door and her.

“Come on, Catra!” Glimmer pleaded. “We’ll have more fun if you’re there. You’re the life of the party!”

“Can it, Sparkles,” Catra snapped, trying to move around her. “I’m not in the mood.”

Adora could see Bow facepalming in her peripheral vision.

A mischievous glint suddenly bloomed in Glimmer’s eyes. “What, you’re telling me you _don’t_ want to see Adora in a swimsuit?” she teased, a completely innocent smile on her face. “Or even getting to see _She-Ra_? I’m sure all that training for the war has done wonders for -”

“And that is enough from you!” Bow interrupted, stepping between Catra and Glimmer to begin pushing his girlfriend out the door. “We will leave you guys alone now, sorry to cause so much trouble.”

Adora couldn’t help but smack the base of her palm to her forehead as the door clicked shut behind the two. She loved Glimmer, she really did, but sometimes she was truly tempted to strangle her. Although she couldn’t help but feel a _hint_ of satisfaction at how red Catra’s face had gotten at their friend’s comment.

Focus. She needed to focus.

“Okay. Let’s try this again.” She walked around Catra to stand in front of her, her girlfriend still seemingly frozen in place. “Can you please tell me the _real_ reason you don’t want to go to Salineas?”

Catra’s fist clenched, her tail flicking twice in rapid succession. Adora was worried she’d accidentally escalated the situation further, but then her girlfriend sighed, her tail falling as she hastily muttered something under her breath. The words sounded vaguely like: “I haunt like the potion.”

Adora, as dense as she was aware she could sometimes be, was 99% sure she had misheard her. “Huh?”

Catra huffed, avoiding eye contact with her. “I said that I don’t like the ocean. So no, I don’t really want to go to the Water Princess’s _sea_ side resort. Okay?”

Adora started to reply with a general ‘Oh, that’s fine, you don’t have to go if it’s something you’re not comfortable with’, but she stopped as she noticed something… _unusual_ was really the only word for it.

Catra had never been very good at masking her emotions. At least, not from Adora.

But Catra often cited that she’d rather die than let anyone see her with all the fur on her tail standing on end.

Adora didn’t know if that meant this situation was a breakthrough in Catra’s sarcastic barrier or a once-in-a-lifetime moment of vulnerability.

Ah. Adora now understood what was _really_ going on. Well, she supposed this made way more sense than her girlfriend’s previous ‘I’m not a princess so I’m not going’ argument. So she stepped closer, taking Catra’s hands within her own. “You could have just told me that you were afraid of the water.” Or reminded her, really. It wasn’t that she had no idea about Catra’s fear - she just wasn’t aware of how paralyzing that fear might be. Probably a result of Horde Prime, which made anger bubble in the pit of her stomach.

Hmm. Maybe Catra’s fear was something they could talk to Perfuma about in a group session.

“I am _not_ -”

“Look at your tail and then look me in the eyes before you finish that sentence.”

Catra blushed hotly, freeing one of her hands from Adora’s to reach back and smooth down the fluffed-up fur on her tail. “Fine,” she grumbled. “I’m afraid of water. So I don’t really want to go to a _beach_ because of the giant, water-filled ocean there. Make sense?”

Adora couldn’t help but snicker at Catra’s description of the ocean. Not inaccurate, but also not exactly typical. “Yeah. I get it.” She gave her girlfriend’s hand a gentle squeeze before offering her a comforting smile. “If you want to stay behind, I understand and I will respect your decision. But will you allow me to propose a compromise?”

Catra hesitated, but nodded. “It better be a good one.”

Well, Adora was pretty pleased with it, especially considering she’d come up with it on the spot. “Okay. You don’t like water. Understandable. But you do like _me_.”

Catra rolled her eyes. “Really? That’s the direction you’re taking this?”

“Oh, come on. At least give me a chance to finish.”

“Fine. You have sixty seconds.” While she was clearly trying to present an air of impatience, there was no evidence of such in her voice.

“We got to Salineas,” Adora continued. “See the sights of the kingdom on _land_ , and when everyone else wants to go to the beach and splash in the water we just… stay inside. And be together.” She smiled at her. “Sound good?”

Catra’s tailed flicked from side to side, and Adora could see doubt and hesitation in her girlfriend’s eyes. “But Glimmer and Bow will want to hang out with you, too. Including at the beach. It’s not fair to you to stay inside the whole time because of me.”

Adora shrugged. “I mean, you could argue that, but I’m sure we can work something out while we’re there. Maybe you stay inside reading and I go with them to the beach for an hour every other day. Doesn’t matter to me. I just want you to have fun, too.”

The mixture of relief and elation on Catra’s face was enough to make Adora melt. “Okay,” she agreed, smiling. “That’s a compromise I can work with.”

With a game plan prepared and out of the way, Adora couldn’t resist the urge to tease her girlfriend. Just a little bit. “And, if you _really_ want me to, I can wear my swimsuit inside.” She winked at her. “You could even help me pick out the best one.”

Catra stiffened, her tail going ramrod straight yet again as a blush darkened her features. “You’re such a dork,” was all she grumbled in response, dropping her head onto her girlfriend’s shoulder.

Adora took that as a yes.

3\. _teeth_

Sometimes Adora wanted nothing more than to turn into She-Ra and strangle all of the idiotic politicians she was now forced to work with on the daily. Not that she couldn’t strangle them as herself, but the general public was more likely to let She-Ra get away with it. See, those politicians had no problem with letting the Princess Alliance run the war, the cowards that they were - too afraid to ally with the ‘wrong’ side - but the moment the fighting ended they declared that the princesses were no longer fit to lead on their own.

In theory, Adora understood this perspective. In practice, too many of them were pretentious douchebags that she could barely bring herself to address with respect.

What made it worse was that Catra, more often than not, wasn’t allowed at these political meetings. And she understood _why_ Catra couldn’t attend, because she was neither a princess, a diplomat, nor a missionary, but that it didn’t make it any less frustrating. Of course, she knew it was even worse for Glimmer, too, as now that King Micah had returned the politicians kept going to him for information on Bright Moon and ignoring her entirely, completely dismissive of the fact that Glimmer was still the queen and held the same amount of power as her father. Adora was fairly certain she’d caught Bow having to physically restrain Glimmer several times from blasting someone’s head off.

She wasn’t sure _she_ would have been so forgiving.

Not all of the people they worked with were so demeaning, of course. Some were more than willing to cooperate with the ‘saviors of Etheria’, as they’d been dubbed, especially after managing to overcome any doubts about their age. They weren’t even _that_ young. Minus Frosta.

Regardless, Adora knew she couldn’t change the minds of those who didn’t trust her. All she could do was grit her teeth and work towards a compromise.

But _God_ if their attitudes didn’t piss her off. And, unfortunately, sometimes that irritation accompanied her back to Bright Moon.

“Argh!” she shouted, slamming the bedroom door shut behind her as she entered. The low splintering sound it made was rather cathartic, though she’d probably need Glimmer to repair it the next day. “I swear, if _one_ more person writes me off as a child whose leadership experience isn’t valid because it came from the battlefield and not some governing position…” Adora didn’t finish her sentence. Not that she needed to, as she almost snapped the plastic comb she’d grabbed off the dresser in half as she spoke. She took a deep breath before sitting down at the vanity Bow had refurbished for them recently, trying to calm herself so she didn’t accidentally tear her hair out when she started trying to comb it.

“Rough day?” she heard Catra say from behind her. She could see her girlfriend in the mirror, lounging on their bed and idly flipping through a book she clearly wasn’t reading.

Adora snorted. “You think?”

Catra raised an eyebrow. “Oh, that bad?”

Adora had to bite her tongue to stop herself from saying something she’d no doubt regret later. “Just a little.”

“You should take tomorrow off,” Catra suggested, placing her book aside as she moved to sit cross-legged on the bed. “You’ve been working every day for like, two weeks straight now. Even Sparkles stays at Bright Moon on the weekends.”

Adora yanked out her ponytail, ignoring how the action tugged painfully at her scalp. “The moment I take a break is the moment those guys lose whatever minimal respect they have for me.” She took another deep breath before she slowly began to comb through the knots in her hair, though her grip was undoubtedly far more iron than it needed to be.

“What, they don’t respect the legendary She-Ra?” The hint of sarcasm in Catra’s voice did nothing to calm Adora’s mood.

“Oh, sure, they respect She-Ra!” she snapped, dropping the comb onto the vanity table, barely able to hold back from breaking it. “At least, they respect that she could break them in half if she so pleased. But to them, _Adora_ isn’t She-Ra. And I refuse to transform every day just to keep them on edge and give them something ‘sexier’ to stare at.”

“But who _cares_ what they think?” Catra demanded, rolling her eyes. “Can’t you just -”

Adora stood up, slamming her hands onto the vanity table. “No, Catra, I _can’t_.” She groaned, dragging her palm down the side of her face. “I’m just so _tired_ of it.”

There was a pause. “Sorry,” Catra mumbled. “I didn’t mean to push your buttons. I guess I just don’t totally understand what they’re like because I’m not there.”

Adora sighed heavily. “I know. And I’m sorry I keep taking my anger out on you. It isn’t fair for me to do that.” She glanced at her, an amused smile forming on her lips. “Even if you do _kind_ of deserve it, if we’re being honest.”

“As if. You’re the one acting so snippy.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, _bite me_.”

With a speed that would have made Glimmer’s teleportation abilities envious, Catra leapt off the bed and practically flew to Adora’s side, spinning her girlfriend around to press her back against the vanity table. “With pleasure,” she purred, smirking at her.

The light caught on Catra’s grin, and Adora was suddenly overwhelmed with just how cat-like her girlfriend’s teeth were. Way, _way_ sharper than her own.

She didn’t have long to ponder on the subject, however, as Catra didn’t hesitate to lean in and capture Adora’s mouth with her own, nipping at her girlfriend’s bottom lip as she did so. Adora’s response was to promptly wrap her arms around Catra’s waist, physically lifting her upwards and pulling her close to eliminate any space between them.

Maybe she’d take tomorrow off after all.

4\. _eyes_

“Hey! Adora!”

Adora, grateful for any excuse to take a break from alphabetizing George and Lance’s First Ones’ documents, dropped the scroll she was holding and turned around to see Bow dashing towards her. “What’s up?”

“Look at this book I found!” he said excitedly, practically shoving it in front of her face as he spoke.

Adora blinked, having to lean backwards to read the title. “‘The Cat’s Eye: A Glimpse into the Soul’?” She raised an eyebrow. “And this is significant, because…?”

“Because this is our chance to conduct an _experiment_!” Bow gushed, his eyes practically glittering in excitement. “We can find out if _Catra’s_ eyes do cat stuff! We already know her ears and tail do, so this is the perfect opportunity to expand upon and add to the existing body of knowledge.”

Adora’s immediate thought was that _someone_ had been spending too much time with Entrapta. However, that thought was soon followed by an eager, “Let’s do it.” It would be a nice break from alphabetizing, anyways.

Bow looked like he was desperately holding back an ecstatic cry, instead giving her the widest grin she had ever seen. It was borderline frightening. “Okay, so I’ve already bookmarked the three easiest things for us to test,” he admitted, starting to flip through the pages.

Adora glanced up to the second floor, where Catra and Glimmer were working together to sort and reshelve the upper right wing of the library. The relaxed expression on Catra’s face made warmth blossom in her chest, and she felt slightly guilty about how she and Bow were about to ruin that peace.

But only slightly.

“Alright, hit me with it,” she said, placing a hand on her hip and grinning. “What do I need to do?”

Bow turned to the first page he’d bookmarked. “‘Surprise in cats is denoted by large pupils’,” he read, keeping his voice low so as not to alert Catra and Glimmer. “So basically you need to surprise Catra and I’ll watch to see what her eyes do if I’m close enough. If that doesn’t work out, you’ll just have to pay attention to her pupils and see if they dilate.”

Adora looked at him with suspicion. “Why am I the one doing the surprising?”

“Because Catra is considerably less likely to scratch _you_ in defense.”

Adora pursed her lips. He made a solid point. “Okay, fine.” She glanced up at Catra, who was still talking casually with Glimmer as they reshelved books. “Is that all?”

Bow flipped further ahead in his book. “Well, I’ve also marked that anger and excitement are denoted by slit pupils and trust is shown by wide open eyes, but I figure we can get to that later. One thing at a time.”

Adora was inclined to agree. “Alright. Now we just need a plan.” How best to surprise Catra? Specifically in a way that would not endanger the lives of anyone around them?

Maybe that concern was indicative their idea wasn’t a great one, but Adora was too desperate to avoid alphabetizing to care. Besides - they’d be careful!

Hmm… Simplicity was probably the best way to go.

“Okay,” she said after a pause, tapping her chin. “I think I’ve got an idea. But you have a role to play.”

Bow shrugged. “As long as I’m not directly in the line of fire.”

Adora grinned at him. “How do you feel about being behind it?”

The plan was incredibly simple - so simple, in fact, that less than five minutes later Adora was already in position, hidden behind a mostly-empty bookcase in one of the many upstairs rooms. She was careful not to lean too much against it, as doing so in the wrong area would leave her with an arm full of splinters. She was starting to regret wearing a sleeveless top. In the meantime, Bow would bring Catra to the room under the pretense of needing help finding a book. While she was distracted, Adora would push over the bookshelf and hopefully startle her, and they’d both watch her eyes to see what happened.

Hopefully afterwards Catra would forgive her.

“And remind me why you couldn’t ask Glimmer for help? Or even Adora?” Adora heard Catra say dryly, two sets of footsteps growing louder as they moved closer to the room she was hiding in.

“Because Adora is helping my dads translate some stuff downstairs and Glimmer had to teleport back to Bright Moon for a second because of her queen-ly duties,” Bow explained. Adora heard a creak as someone opened the door. “But this shouldn’t take too long.”

Catra sighed, but Adora could tell there was no real exasperation in her voice. “Whatever. What book am I looking for again?”

“Lance said it’s an old, dark blue, leather-bound book with gold binding, but the name has faded off the spine and most of the cover.”

“How very helpful,” Catra grumbled. Adora had to bite her tongue to stop herself from laughing. “You’re _sure_ it’s in this room?”

“Yep! Lance said it’s somewhere on the _far side_.”

Aha - that was her cue!

Adora waited a beat to give Bow a last-second chance to move them away in case they were still too close to the bookcase, then dug her heels into the ground to stabilize herself as she pushed the bookshelf over.

Bow frantically scrambled backwards, startled despite knowing exactly what was going to happen, but the _real_ highlight was how Catra hissed and leapt practically six feet into the air, landing on her feet in the most cat-like fashion Adora had ever seen. And sure enough - her eyes had widened to the size of saucers.

Adora couldn’t contain herself any longer - she burst out laughing, bending forward and clutching at her stomach as she found she couldn’t breathe from laughing too hard. But the pain was worth it. It was so, _so_ worth it. “Oh my God,” she gasped, wiping tears from her eyes. “You should have seen your face!”

Catra glared at her as she stood up from the ground, eyes narrowing. “Translating with your dads, huh?” she growled, tail flicking back and forth as she crossed her arms over her chest, glancing in irritation at Bow, who simply held his hands up in surrender and gave her a guilty smile. “I hate _both_ of you. I thought we were all too old for stupid pranks like that, but apparently I was wrong.”

“It was not a _prank_ ,” Bow protested. “It was for science!”

“And that’s somehow better?”

Adora was still laughing as she lifted the bookcase, pushing it back against the wall where it had rested originally. She didn’t fail to notice the way Catra’s gaze followed her arms as she did so.

Adora no longer regretted wearing the sleeveless top.

“Anyways,” Catra continued, glowering at the both of them, “you two made this mess, so you two are going to clean it up. If you need me” - she glared at Bow again, presumably just for good measure - “like, _actually_ need me, I’ll be reshelving those books I was working on earlier. You know, what I was _told_ to do.” She then proceeded to storm out of the room.

“Oh my gosh, that was a perfect ‘two birds with one stone’!” Bow exclaimed the moment Catra disappeared around a corner, practically bounding over to Adora. “Her pupils got _huge_ when the bookcase crashed and then got super narrow when she got all pissed at us!”

“We are so great,” Adora said, unable to stop herself from offering him a high five, a motion which Bow eagerly returned. “That means all we have left is trust, right?”

Bow nodded, then grimaced. “Y’know, in retrospect, maybe we should have done that one first. I think her trust in us may have decreased just a _tad_ after we tricked her into coming into a dusty room just so we could see what would happen if we startled her.”

Adora waved her hand dismissively. “Fear not, my friend.” She grinned at him. “I already have a plan.”

Bow raised an eyebrow. “A _good_ plan?”

“Rude,” Adora said, affronted by his doubt. “All of my plans are good.”

Bow was clearly skeptical of this assessment, but then he shrugged. “Sure. It’s not like I have any other ideas.”

Adora’s plan, again, was quite simple. She’d just apologize to Catra and gauge her reaction. Really, her plan was 5% experiment and 95% genuine apology, because she did feel pretty bad for scaring the hell out of her girlfriend, as hysterical as the end result had wound up being.

“Hey, Catra,” she called, leaning against the doorway next to the shelf her girlfriend was restocking with books. “Can we talk?”

Catra sent her a dubious look, pausing with a book halfway to the shelf. “By ‘talk’, do you mean throw a bookshelf at my feet again for the sake of ‘science’? Because if so, not really.”

Adora had to bite her tongue to avoid laughing at the memory, as if it hadn’t happened less than ten minutes ago. “No, not that. I promise.”

Catra ignored her, continuing to shelve books.

“Come on.” Adora offered her hand to Catra. “Don’t you trust me?”

Catra groaned, moving the last book she’d been holding in her arms to its correct place on the shelf. “Really? You’re playing that card?”

Adora shrugged. “I play any cards in my hands that will give me the advantage.”

She could have sworn she heard her girlfriend mutter something along the lines of _advantage, my ass_ , but Catra did turn to face her. “Fine,” she admitted with a small sigh, placing her hand in Adora’s. “I do trust you.”

Her eyes had gone wide open - looked like Bow’s book had been right once again. Though the book had neglected to mention the adorable blush that would be painting her features.

It took everything in Adora’s power to prevent the cheesiest grin of all time from breaking out on her face. Instead, she gave her girlfriend’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Good. Because I trust you, too.” She leaned forward to touch their foreheads together. “And I’m sorry Bow and I startled you. We were conducting an experiment. A successful one, if it’s any consolation.”

Catra snorted, but she didn’t step away, instead placing her other hand on Adora’s waist. “You guys have been spending way too much time around Entrapta.”

Adora laughed. “Come on. You’re telling me you don’t want to know the conclusions Bow and I have drawn after our extremely detailed research?”

“Ugh. Should I be afraid to say yes?”

“Aw, I thought you _trusted_ me.”

“Okay, okay. Fine. Tell me what you’ve learned.”

Adora leaned back slightly, beaming at her. “Well, after analyzing the extensive raw data we collected in the past fifteen minutes -”

“ _Adora_.”

She snickered. “In sum: Bow and I have concluded that you… are a cat.”

Catra raised an eyebrow. “Not to discredit your research, but I think I could have told you that one.”

“Probably, but where’s the fun in that?”

“Mm… Shut up.”

Adora gladly obliged, pulling her girlfriend closer and successfully silencing the both of them with a kiss.

5\. _claws_

Adora hadn’t meant to flinch. It was a gut reaction. Instinct. The feeling of a sharp, precise pain digging into and dragging down her face, her legs, her back. She thought she’d gotten over it. She hadn’t meant to have such a - _visceral_ reaction.

But Catra’s face had hurt more than the pain of any memories could.

“I - I have to go,” she’d stammered, breaking eye contact with Adora as her hand fell down to her side. “Sorry.”

“Catra -” she’d started to call after her, but to no avail. Melog twisted around her girlfriend’s ankles, and then they were gone.

Adora’s reaction to scenarios involving emotional complexity was always the same. As she’d once told Glimmer - “punch your feelings out”. Which was exactly what she was currently doing in Bright Moon’s training room.

“Argh!” she shouted, slamming her bow staff into a punching bag directly across a faded Horde symbol. She ran through a dozen different combinations of attacks, some of which she hadn’t practiced since she’d broken She-Ra’s sword. But on the thought of She-Ra…

“For the honor… of Grayskull!”

In a flash of opalescent light, she summoned her sword and transformed into her ‘warrior goddess alter ego’, as Catra had once sarcastically put it, slashing through the punching bag with one clean swipe. Sand spilled everywhere, a quiet _shh_ filling the room as it spread across the floor.

“Greetings, She-Ra. You look a little bit tense.”

She-Ra turned around to see that Glimmer had entered the room, a knowing smile on her face. “Hey, Glimmer. Just… relieving some stress.”

“Oh, of course.” Glimmer was clearly trying not to laugh. “By destroying all of Bright Moon’s training equipment?”

“Uh…” She-Ra glanced around her, realizing that her swipe through the punching bag had not only cut open the one but had also resulted in every other piece of equipment breaking open or in half. She gave Glimmer an awkward smile. “Er… my bad?”

Glimmer gave up on trying to hold back her laughter, and She-Ra soon found herself joining in. “Don’t worry. This still isn’t as bad as when Bow used an entire quiver of explosive errors. He had sand in his hair for _ages_.”

Adora found herself detransforming as Glimmer cast an enchantment, the girl drawing a glowing purple circle in the air that collected the sand from the floor and restored the punching bags and all other equipment to their original, non-destroyed state. She couldn’t help but feel a flicker of pride in her chest as she watched her best friend use her magic. Not that she herself had anything to do with it, of course, but she was just _proud_ that Glimmer had matured so much in such a short time. In some ways it was painful to think about, but in others it was proof that Glimmer was perhaps the strongest person Adora had ever known.

“So what’s up?” Glimmer asked after she finished repairing the training room, the violet light disappearing from her eyes. “What’s got you so stressed that you brought out She-Ra to tear up the gym?”

Adora’s face reddened at the lighthearted jab. It was true that She-Ra didn’t appear much to fight anymore. She did a lot of heavy lifting, though. “Catra and I had an argument,” she admitted, her right hand instinctively reaching up to grab her left shoulder.

Glimmer’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“I mean, you don’t need to _worry_ , or anything, because it wasn’t a big deal, but…” She trailed off, unsure of how to finish her thought.

Glimmer gave her a soft, encouraging smile. “Only tell me what you’re comfortable talking about. You know there’s no pressure.” Her eyes lit up. “Oh, wait! I have an idea!” She placed her hands on her friend’s shoulders, and in a _poof_ of glittering magic they had teleported into Glimmer’s bedroom on top of the hammock-type bed hanging from the ceiling, directly across from the highest window in the room.

“A nostalgic comfort spot,” Glimmer explained, pushing her hair behind her ear. “So… what did you guys fight about?”

Adora sighed, leaning back into the plush purple pillows that lined the bed. “It wasn’t the argument that was such a big deal, really. Just about my responsibilities as She-Ra, you know? Stuff we’ve always worked out before.” She absentmindedly redid her ponytail, which had fallen loose from her sparring match with the punching bag. “But this time, Catra… kind of gestured wildly at me with her cl… hands, I guess.”

Glimmer frowned. “Is she not normally that expressive?”

“Well, she’s gotten a lot better at keeping her cool,” Adora tried to explain, “so it was kind of weird to see her react so physically, if that makes sense.”

Glimmer nodded. “Got it, got it. Keep going.”

“And… and I couldn’t help it. I flinched!” She groaned, burying her face in her hands. “I _know_ Catra would never hurt me. We’ve talked about it before, and the idea of hurting me gives her so much anxiety that I just, I would _never_ want her to think that -” She was rambling. Poor Glimmer, having to listen to her. “But I still flinched. And her face. God, Glimmer, her _face_.” She shook her head. “She probably hates me now.”

There was a pause before Glimmer responded. “I think I understand what’s going on. You’re worried that she thinks you don’t trust her, and that she’s still capable of hurting you?”

Adora lifted her head from her hands, nodding vigorously. “Yes, exactly! But I _do_ trust her, and I know she would never hurt me intentionally.”

Glimmer tilted her head to the side, giving her a comforting smile. “Then if I were you, I would just be honest with her. I know that’s not, really, _great_ advice, but cut me some slack. I’m not Perfuma.” She shrugged. “I mean, it just seems to me that this is something you need to talk through together, right? She’s afraid of hurting you physically, and you’re afraid of hurting her… er, emotionally. You could probably even have joint meditation sessions with Perfuma about this. Like I said - she’s definitely a more professional mediator than me.”

Adora chuckled, giving her a rueful smile. “So… You’re saying I can’t punch my way out of this one.”

Glimmer snorted. “That’s probably the opposite of progress. Regression.” She then lightly nudged her friend’s shoulder. “But you guys are going to be okay. You did kind of save the world with true love’s kiss, so…” She winked at her. “You got this.”

Adora grinned. “Hey, I told you and Bow that in _confidence_.”

“And we have not told anyone else!” A beat passed. “Yet.”

Adora simply shook her head, still laughing. She then turned to pull her friend into a tight hug, burying her face in Glimmer’s short hair. “Thank you. I needed your voice of sanity to help me rationalize everything.”

Glimmer returned the hug, just as tightly or perhaps even more so, and Adora could feel her smiling into her shoulder. “Anytime.” She then pulled away, giving Adora a stern look that reminded her so strongly of Angella it was as bittersweet as it was heartbreaking. “What you need to do right now, however, is change into some clean clothes. You’re way too sweaty to be having a heart-to-heart with Catra right now.”

Adora snorted. “Right. Good to know.”

Glimmer then teleported the both of them into Adora’s bedroom before promptly releasing her friend and ransacking her drawers, throwing a plain gray tank top and a pair of red shorts her way. “There. Something more comfortable.” She snickered. “And more airy.”

Adora rolled her eyes. “Alright, alright. I can take a hint.” She smiled. “Thanks, Glimmer.”

Glimmer nodded, looking terribly pleased with herself. “You’re very welcome. If you need me, Bow and I will baking in the kitchen.”

“You mean _trying_ to bake? And hopefully not burning down the entire palace while you’re at it?”

Glimmer stuck her tongue out at her. “Ha ha. As if you’re any better.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong.

“Anyways. Good luck!” Glimmer said with a giant grin and a cheerful thumbs up before disappearing out the room in a cloud of sparkling magic, leaving Adora alone with her clean clothes in hand.

She shook her head again, still smiling, before she began to change out of her - yeah, Glimmer had been right - incredibly sweaty uniform. Apparently she’d been beating up that punching bag longer than she’d thought. Or maybe the training room had just been… really warm, or something.

She had just changed into the shorts and was pulling off her white shirt and red jacket when -

“Hey, Adora.”

Adora spun around so fast she probably should have been worried about whiplash, practically sprinting across the room to capture her girlfriend in a tight hug. “Oh my God, Catra, I’m so sorry about earlier! I didn’t mean to make you feel like I didn’t trust you or that I thought you were going to hurt me because I _do_ trust you and I know you’d never hurt me on purpose and I love you so much and I -” She recognized that her words were rapidly starting to fade to senseless babble, so she took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. “I’m sorry.”

“Uh… While I would also like us to talk about what happened, do you think you could…” Catra coughed, and Adora noticed that her girlfriend’s face had turned a deep shade of scarlet. “Can you put a shirt on first?”

Adora immediately released Catra from the hug, taking a step back as she looked down and realized - ah. She was just in her sports bra. “Right. Sorry.” Her face nearly as red as Catra’s, she hastily spun on her heel to go back and grab her clean tank top off the bed. But as she started to pull it over her shoulders, she was stopped by the warmth of a familiar hand on her back.

“These scars…” Catra’s voice was low, almost mournful. “They’re… from me, aren’t they?”

Adora was frozen in place as Catra’s palm rested on her upper back. “Yes,” she admitted quietly. “From Prime’s ship.” She felt Catra’s hand fall away, and she finished pulling her shirt on before turning around to face her girlfriend. Her breath hitched and she had to swallow the lump in her throat upon seeing the guilt clouding Catra’s eyes. “Hey,” she said gently, reaching out to take her girlfriend’s hand. “It’s okay -”

“No. No, it’s not,” Catra interrupted, taking a step back. “I - I _hurt_ you, Adora. And that’s not - we can’t forget it. We _shouldn’t_ forget it.” Her fist clenched. “Especially not me. Because… I want you to feel safe around me, okay?”

Adora was overwhelmed by her girlfriend’s words, but even more than overwhelmed, she was _proud_. And she also totally wanted to cry. “You went to talk to Perfuma. Didn’t you?”

Catra flushed in embarrassment, her gaze dropping down to the floor between them. “Maybe. It’s no big deal -”

“No, no! I think… it’s great.” She tried to offer her an encouraging smile. “I’m really proud that you chose to go talk to someone rather than… go stew by yourself, I guess.”

Catra’s nose wrinkled in disgust, which was almost unfairly cute, though Adora kept that thought to herself. “Ugh. That’s what Perfuma said, too.”

Adora laughed, taking a step forward to slip her hands into her girlfriend’s. “Well, I _am_ proud of you. Deal with it. But…” She lifted Catra’s hands, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her knuckles. “I _do_ feel safe around you, Catra. You’re right - you have hurt me. I still remember that. Parts of me may never be able to forget the feeling of that hurt, either.” She freed one of her hands to push Catra’s bangs out of her forehead. “But you have also protected me. You saved my life in the Heart. Literally the other day you threatened to gut that asshole ambassador who kept trying to get into She-Ra’s pants.”

Catra groaned, dropping her head onto Adora’s shoulder. “That was so embarrassing.”

“Maybe for _you_ , but for everyone else it was incredibly satisfying to witness. He was a jerk.”

Catra snorted into her shoulder. “That’s an understatement.”

“My point is that I do feel safe around you. And that I love you,” Adora continued, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend and holding her close. “ _All_ of you. Including your claws. Understand?”

Catra lifted her head, a mixture of relief and gratitude evident in her eyes. “Okay.” She pulled Adora in, tightening the hug. “Okay.”

\+ 1. _cat blanket_

“No,” Adora whined, reaching out to grab Catra as she tried to climb out of bed. “Not yet. It’s too early.”

“What, you want Sparkles to come looking for us again?” Catra growled, though she allowed herself to be pulled back onto the bed. ‘Allowed’ was a stretch - she was well aware that Adora could physically overpower her with ease, even when she was half-asleep.

“It’s Saturday. She knows not to.”

Catra snickered at the exhaustion in her girlfriend’s voice. “I can’t believe _I_ actually woke up before you for once.”

“Mm. I stayed up too late…” Adora yawned before finishing. “Helping King Micah and Glimmer with paperwork.”

“So what I’m hearing is that you have no one to blame but yourself.”

“Ergh. Shut up.”

Catra yelped as Adora proceeded to pull her down on top of her, the side of her face getting pressed into her girlfriend’s chest. “Adora! What are you doing?!”

“Cat blanket,” was Adora’s content response, a teasing lilt to her voice as she ran a hand through Catra’s hair before gently scratching behind her ears.

Catra purred at the comforting sensation, much to her own chagrin. “Who do you think I am? Melog?” she grumbled, though she made no move to get off of her girlfriend. Really, she couldn’t complain too much about Adora’s strong arm wrapped around her midsection.

“Nah,” Adora said, amused. “Better.”

From the floor next to the bed, Melog gave a plaintive meow.

“Sorry,” Adora apologized. Catra had to bite back a laugh. She didn’t _sound_ particularly sorry.

Catra begrudgingly accepted the fact that she would not be getting up anytime soon, so she allowed herself to snuggle comfortably against Adora, resting her head on her girlfriend’s chest. The rhythmic beating of Adora’s heart only made her purring intensify, not that she heard any complaints from Adora. And if the contented sigh that slipped out of her girlfriend’s lips was any indication of her mood… Well, it didn’t seem like she was planning to get up anytime soon, either.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "cat blanket" is based on how cats just stretch out and lounge on top of you and purr. it's the most healing thing in the world


	7. an unorthodox proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i couldn't get this idea out of my head lol. in sum: adora learning that it's okay to want and to be wanted as well as realizing that her love for catra spans greater than a million universes, with all these feelings culminating in a rather unorthodox proposal (and really, who would have it any other way?)

~*~

Adora knew she had problems with… accepting things, as it were. On her first birthday - or what they’d decided was her birthday - as a part of the Rebellion, Glimmer and Bow had refurbished her _entire_ wardrobe. With the help of Angella. She’d be so overwhelmed that not only was it still a struggle for her to wear most of those outfits but she’d also tried to make gifts for each one of them in return. They’d informed her, gently, that birthdays did not operate as exchanges. Their presents to her were tokens of appreciation for her existence, no strings attached and nothing required in response. 

She hadn’t believed them at the time. Or at least hadn’t _understood_ them. How could someone appreciate her solely because she existed? In the Horde, a person had to work to prove their worth. They had to constantly show that they’d earned their positions. They had to justify that they deserved to live, because no one inherently deserved _anything_ when there was no guarantee they’d all make it to see the next day. Then, as She-Ra, every day Adora felt like she had to prove her loyalties to the Rebellion as well as demonstrate her capabilities as a leader. She couldn’t let them down, no matter what the cost. As they learned to trust her, She-Ra’s responsibility shifted to being the savior. There was no one else in the universe who could do what She-Ra could, who held the power that She-Ra held, which meant She-Ra - _Adora_ \- had to be ready to do anything for the sake of those who could do nothing.

It was a mantra. A lifestyle drilled into Adora’s mind. Don’t ask, don’t want, and there will be nothing to lose. She should only take what she needed because anything more was unnecessary and would only be a sign of weakness. In the Horde, Shadow Weaver made sure Adora was never weak. In turn, as part of the Rebellion, Adora did the same for She-Ra. She clung to those basics, forcing herself to be content with working towards a greater purpose. Once, to be Force Captain. Then, or perhaps even now, to be She-Ra, and to do whatever it took to save all of Etheria.

_You deserve love, too._ Mara’s words often echoed in her mind, as if she’d only heard them yesterday and not months ago. Adora had struggled to take that advice to heart. ‘Deserve’ was too fickle of a term - maybe she _did_ deserve love, but the rest of Etheria deserved to _live_ and didn’t that outweigh her own selfish wants?

But she was gradually starting to understand that such concepts did not have to be mutually exclusive. She’d saved Etheria while the love of her life had saved her at the same time. She didn’t have to choose. Or maybe she had chosen, and she’d chosen both.

Adora, much like her girlfriend, had taken to meeting with Perfuma. To help her process… well, everything. She kept this fact private - not because she was embarrassed or anything of the like, but because she simply didn’t want any of her friends to worry. Glimmer was having to iron out the details of co-ruling with King Micah, Bow was helping his dads rebuild and restore their library, and Catra was working harder than anyone just to become accustomed to Bright Moon and to improve her relations with the people she’d hurt during her time at the Horde.

Perfuma’s response to these concerns had been that her problems were not lesser just because she’d convinced herself they were of smaller magnitude, because a person drowning in five feet of water and a person drowning in twenty feet of water were still both drowning, regardless of the difference in depth. They both needed to be saved, and both would need treatment afterwards to survive. In other words, it was okay if her friends worried on her behalf because her problems were as important as anyone else’s. Concern and empathy, Perfuma believed, were the core components of a strong bond between individuals.

Perfuma was undoubtedly right, but Adora kept her talks with the princess to herself all the same.

Another common topic at her sessions was her supposed ‘self-sacrificial’ tendencies. Those tendencies were connected to her difficulty in accepting her inner wants and desires, Perfuma had explained, and her obsessive need to be someone for everyone at any time. If she kept that up, she would eventually stretch herself too thin, hurting herself and perhaps even those around her.

So, with Perfuma’s help, Adora had created a new mantra to live by. She did not have to be everything for everyone. It was okay to want, to be selfish, to love and be loved. Perfuma was delighted to note her progress over the past several months, and Adora couldn’t help but feel pleased with herself, too. Which was also okay. There was no shame in pride and self-love.

In other words… Adora wouldn’t have traded the world she was in for a million new universes to explore.

“So _how_ do you tell the difference between a star and a planet?” Catra asked, frowning up at the sky. “They all look like bright circles to me.”

Adora chuckled at her girlfriend’s blunt question. “I think stars twinkle and planets shine is how most people do it. But I can just… feel it. The difference.”

They were lying on one of the flatter rooftops of Bright Moon’s palace, resting side by side and staring up at the stars together. Catra liked being up high to get away from people, and Adora was more than happy to accompany her in being alone. They tried to climb up and stargaze every week, and while they were not always successful, it made the times they did manage to get away together even more special.

“I guess that’s She-Ra’s influence,” Catra mused. “ _Feeling_ the difference without knowing anything about stars.”

Adora laughed. “Probably so. I’ve never studied astronomy in my life, so…”

Catra snorted. “Except for the one time you fell asleep when George was trying to explain constellations to you. So yeah, definitely She-Ra.”

“I didn’t _mean_ to fall asleep.” The conversation had actually been incredibly interesting - she’d just been exhausted from helping Glimmer with Bright Moon business all day.

George had recently provided them with a copy of a book about stars, as most of Etheria had been ecstatic about their reappearance in the sky. Adora and Catra had spent the past few nights spotting constellations amongst the stars, something Adora - or She-Ra, perhaps - apparently had a knack for. Catra preferred to make up her own, each story she invented for them more ridiculous than the next.

“Hey, is that a constellation?” Catra asked, pointing upwards and to her right at a cluster of stars that formed a vaguely humanoid shape. “Or is it coincidentally a weird pattern that looks like a person?”

Adora had to physically tear her gaze from her girlfriend, turning her head to look up at the sky. Not that the stars weren’t beautiful, but their light didn’t hold a candle to Catra, who in her opinion was a thousand times more stunning. Although she was probably biased on that front. “Yes,” she said after examining the stars Catra had pointed out to her. She actually remembered this particular constellation from George’s book, admittedly only because it was exactly on page 100. “It’s the Huntress constellation. The daughter of a Titan - the Titans were a race of people after the First Ones - sacrificed her life at her father’s hand to save her friends travelling with her. Her father intended to kill them all, and she was willing to do anything to stop him. She was able to trick her father into returning to his prison where he held up the sky, as the First Ones had condemned his fate to be, but in doing so he managed to strike a final blow across her body that ended up being fatal.”

“Parents hurting their children, huh?” Catra murmured. “I guess that’s not something new.”

Adora had been so excited that she’d remembered the story behind a constellation of her own accord that she’d forgotten how tragic this one happened to be. “The girl was actually one of She-Ra’s most loyal lieutenants.” Her own voice had dropped almost to a whisper. “When she died to save everyone, She-Ra immortalized her sacrifice in the stars.” She reached up, tracing the outstretched arm of the girl. “She’s drawing her bow - fighting to protect her friends even in death.”

Adora heard Catra’s claws scrape against the rooftop. “Why are so many of these stories so depressing?” she grumbled. “Someone is always dying to save other people. Why - _why_ can’t a person do good things and just… die of old age or something? Can’t they still be remembered for their achievements without the sacrifice play?”

Adora knew she should have been listening more tentatively to her girlfriend’s words, as there was undoubtedly a lesson there she herself needed to take to heart, but Catra’s profile in the light of the moon was simply too mesmerizing. She couldn’t focus on anything else.

“Stop looking at me like that.” Even in the low silver light of the moon, the deep blush on Catra’s face was clear.

Adora had to bite back her laughter. “Like what?”

“Like… I’m everything.”

But she _was_ everything. “You’re telling me I’m not allowed to admire my beautiful girlfriend?” Adora teased, rolling onto her side to better face Catra. “That’s not fair.”

“Shut up,” Catra muttered, but there was no acidity in her voice.

Adora leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Catra’s forehead. “I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.”

“Yeah, you have this terrible tendency of _always_ telling the truth. The only person worse than you at lying is Scorpia,” Catra grumbled. But she didn’t seem to mind the kiss. “And if you’re going to kiss me, don’t you dare miss my lips on purpose.”

Mm. So Catra _definitely_ didn’t mind the kiss. And Adora was more than happy to oblige with her girlfriend’s requests, though maybe ‘demands’ was a more accurate term. She lifted herself onto her elbows for a better vantage point before leaning down to capture Catra’s lips with her own, humming in satisfaction as her girlfriend began to purr. Maybe it was a silly conclusion to come to but kissing Catra, no, _being_ with Catra was everything Adora wanted and more. She’d give up a thousand lifetimes just for the moment she was living.

No. _No_. She didn’t _need_ to give anything up. She had what she wanted, there and now. No sacrifice needed to be made because Catra was _with_ her, and no one could take that away from them.

Least of all herself.

“Hey,” Catra said, brow furrowing in concern. She carefully moved the both of them up into sitting positions. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? Wait, are you crying?!” Her voice got more frantic with each question, and she took one of Adora’s hands in her own. “Talk to me.”

Adora reached up with her free hand to touch her face, surprised to find it streaked with tears. She didn’t remember starting to cry. “‘Talk to me’,” she found herself repeating, warmth blossoming in her chest. “You and Perfuma have been working on healthy communication strategies, haven’t you?”

Catra flushed. “I - yeah, maybe” She shook her head. “Dammit, Adora, stop deflecting! I asked about _you_.”

“I…” Adora hesitated, her free hand dropping to rest on the rooftop. She sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Oh, come on,” Catra scoffed. “You think I’m buying that?”

“I _don’t_ know,” Adora insisted, pushing the hair that had fallen free from her ponytail behind her ear. “I’m just” - she silently cursed as she felt herself getting choked up - “ _so happy_ , because I love you and I want you to always be with me and now - now there’s no war that can take us away from each other. I’m… I’m _allowed_ to want you, and to want to be with you. Although that probably makes no sense.” She swallowed the lump in her throat, wiping her tears away with her sleeve. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to kill the mood.”

Catra’s pupils had gone wide, and after a long pause she responded by pressing a fiery kiss to her lips, an unexpected reaction but certainly not an unpleasant one. Adora wasn’t complaining. “Say that again,” Catra mumbled against Adora’s lips. “Say that you want me.”

Adora almost had to fight to break away from the kiss, panting slightly from the intensity. “I want you,” she whispered, pushing her girlfriend’s bangs out of her face. The sincerity in her voice would have normally been terrifying but with Catra she wanted nothing more than to be completely honest. “I want you to be with me for the rest of my life. I want to be selfish. I want to be the only one who gets to call you mine.” She pressed a kiss to Catra’s face between each wish, moving from her nose to her cheek to back to her lips.

Catra’s confidence had long since been replaced by a crimson blush, which Adora did not mind, as flustered was a look she always loved to see on her girlfriend. “You know,” she muttered, leaning in to press their foreheads together, “I didn’t mean for you to start reciting wedding vows to me.”

Adora couldn’t help but laugh. “You know what a wedding is?”

“Mostly. Spinnerella explained it to me.”

“I bet _that_ was an entertaining conversation.”

“Ugh. Netossa seemed to think so.”

Adora absentmindedly stroked Catra’s hair. She’d be lying if she hadn’t thought about marriage. Not much, obviously, because she’d been fighting a war her entire life, but the idea had crossed her mind once or twice. In some ways, a ceremony felt superficial, but being able to share such a blissful moment with friends and the immortalization of a relationship that came with it…

“We should get married,” she decided.

Catra sat bolt upright, pupils wide in surprise and face red in shock. “We should _what_?”

“Get married,” she repeated. “I want to be with you, you want to be with me. It would be a nice way to make things official, wouldn’t it?”

“Adora, we’re like - we’re not even _20_ ,” Catra sputtered, her ears going flat to her head as her blush deepened. “I mean, I love you more than anything, but aren’t we - aren’t we kind of young?”

Adora could feel her own face turning pink in response as her brain finally caught up with the words that had been leaving her lips. “I - I didn’t mean _now_!” she stammered, desperately trying to figure out how to rephrase her thoughts. “I just meant, like, _eventually_ , when we’re way older and after we’ve travelled around the entire universe restoring magic and… stuff…” She trailed off, and for a moment they just stared at each other, both too embarrassed to speak.

Catra was the first to break, losing herself in a fit of giggles as she leaned forward to press their foreheads together again. “Of course I’ll marry you one day, dummy. Then no one will ever doubt how much you want me.”

Adora flushed, but she couldn’t stop a happy smile from dancing on her lips. “Sorry that was such a weird proposal.”

“Everything you do is weird. I’m used to it.”

Adora laughed, pressing a light kiss to the top of her girlfriend’s nose. “Good.” Then an idea occurred. A _brilliant_ idea, if she said so herself. Which she did. “So, until then…” She unpinned the golden wing from her belt before carefully attaching it to the left side of Catra’s shirt. “Just so everyone knows how much I love you.”

“More like how possessive you are,” Catra scoffed, though she was smiling as her hand brushed over the pin. “But I guess I’m in no place to say anything about that.”

Adora pressed a chaste kiss to her girlfriend’s lips. “You definitely are not.” She kissed her again, this time catching only the corner of her mouth. “But I love you anyways. I _want_ you. And I’ll make sure you never forget it.”

Catra began purring happily, the deep vibration only intensifying as Adora continued to pepper her face with kisses. “If this is your way of reminding me, I don’t see how I ever could.”

Adora started to laugh, but was soon cut off by Catra’s lips crashing against her own, her girlfriend pushing her down against the rooftop.

_You deserve love, too._

Adora knew she would continue to struggle with Mara’s words. She knew she would continue to have difficulty grasping how love was freely given and required no sacrifice in return. But she also knew was getting there. One day at a time.

And the best part?

Catra would always be at her side. Every step of the way.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this might be the last catradora oneshot for while? although i do want to write more for the iron man au, i also need to focus on my rayllum fic and my actual mcu oneshot collection. still - we shall see which way the wind blows!


	8. i'm with you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prompt: 5 times Catra got distracted by Adora's beauty and 1 time Adora got distracted by Catra's beauty (from CalvinFujii on FFN)
> 
> (i like how i said i was taking a break from she-ra to focus on other stuff and then i got this prompt and i knew i'd die if i didn't write it lmao. i'm just in love with adora, what can i say.)
> 
> Okay. I know I don’t have a large platform, but I still have a platform, so I’m going to use it: Black Lives Matter. There should be nothing controversial about this statement. If you don’t agree with it, I encourage you to check your privilege. If you still don’t understand, stop reading my stories now because you are not the audience I write for.
> 
> So, I don’t want to ask that people donate, because I know that there are many factors influencing financial situations at the moment (including but not limited to the covid-19 pandemic), but I encourage you to sign petitions (texting JUSTICE/ENOUGH/FLOYD to 55156 is a good way to start) and to continue educating yourself on the situation at hand as well as on structural racism - especially if you are white and American. If you can donate, by all means do. If you can’t, consider watching videos on YouTube where all ad revenue goes to support Black Lives Matter (ex. search “Zoe Amira”). I myself am trying to learn how to better be an ally and address the white privilege I know I experience in my life. It is not enough to “not be racist”. We must be anti-racist. I will never understand what it is like to be black, but I do understand that silence is violence, which is why I’m including this note here. I might only be a teenager, but I want to do whatever I can to help.
> 
> If you’d like more resources, feel free to message me on Tumblr @ thinkingisadangerouspastime (or just scroll through my recent posts [ignoring queued ones] and/or my “ref” tag). A basic Google search should also turn up a bunch of information/resources, too. The best time to start learning about and fighting against white supremacy and systemic oppression was hundreds of years ago. The second best time is now. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

~*~

1\. _catra has a thing for… all of adora_

Catra was used to seeing Adora work out. Training and exercising were how they spent a majority of their time as cadets in the Horde, and also how Adora spent most of the rare _free_ time they had back then, too. It was as admirable as it was annoying, because what that habit resulted in was Catra often joining her at those workout sessions since she couldn’t stand to be around the other cadets on her own. Also she probably had severe dependency issues and didn’t like being without Adora for any longer than five minutes.

Now, at Bright Moon, Adora didn’t train as much. Or she was slightly less obsessive about it, at least. And Catra no longer felt like her _only_ option was to join Adora while she worked out. Thanks to some help from Perfuma, she was now far more comfortable with being alone - including being alone with her thoughts - as well as with seeking out company in people other than Adora.

Still, Catra certainly preferred Adora above all others, and there were times she simply wanted to be with her girlfriend and no one else. And when Adora wasn’t with Glimmer or Bow, the odds were that she was in Bright Moon’s gym. Which was why Catra was currently making her way across the palace to that very room, absent-mindedly hoping that Adora was almost done with her workout, or else she’d feel kind of bad for interrupting.

“Hey, Adora -” she started to say as she opened the door to the gym, but her voice vanished in her throat as she caught sight of her girlfriend.

Apparently there was a bonus to Adora working out at Bright Moon that Catra had been yet to consider.

_No more Horde uniform._

Instead, her girlfriend was aggressively striking a punching bag while wearing a sleeveless, red crop top - probably a gift from Bow, as Adora had always been loath to buy herself new clothes or in any way significantly change her wardrobe of her own accord. Catra, however, was certainly not complaining about her girlfriend’s change in attire. In fact, she might need to write a thank you note to Bow, mortifying at the thought was, and also beg him to buy Adora more shirts like the one she was wearing.

Adora hadn’t seemed to notice her entrance based on the intense focus still written over her features as she continued to beat up the punching bag, for which Catra was grateful, because she knew her own face was nothing short of cherry-red. And she did not want Adora to see her so flustered. She’d never hear the end of it.

Catra knew that most Etherians had a sort of ‘celebrity crush’ on She-Ra. And as much resentment as she held for the warrior princess - resentment she was working on unpacking with Perfuma - she couldn’t exactly _blame_ them for their admiration. She-Ra was undeniably the pinnacle of physique and also pretty damn hot, too.

But it wasn’t She-Ra that Catra had fallen for. It never had been. In fact, it was She-Ra that Catra had loathed for so long because she’d ‘taken’ Adora away from her. It was She-Ra that had caused Adora to leave her. And it was Adora that Catra had fallen in love with.

Adora’s dirty blonde hair, not the platinum blonde of She-Ra. Adora’s grayish-blue eyes, not the icy, glowing blue of She-Ra. Adora’s radiant smile, not the focused frown of She-Ra. It had always been _Adora_.

Which meant Catra had no complaints about watching her insanely attractive girlfriend beat the life out of a punching bag while wearing a sleeveless crop top. Nada, zip, zero issues.

Every feature was Adora’s best feature, clearly, but Catra knew that she had a certain appreciation for Adora’s ‘Triple A’ - _Arms and Abs_. Bow was aware of this - which had been a humiliating interaction at the time, but looking back was kind of hilarious - and loved to tease her about it. Catra would respond in turn by teasing him about his adoration of Glimmer’s legs.

It was weird, but undeniably kind of nice, to feel comfortable enough to tease and be teased about love life.

Christ, that shirt was such a good look for Adora. Catra was really going to have to find a way to get her to wear it more often. ‘More often’ meaning literally all the time.

“Oh! Hey, Catra!”

Rats. She’d been caught. No more silently admiring from afar.

Adora jogged over to her, and while Catra did regret that she’d interrupted her girlfriend’s workout, she couldn’t deny that she did not mind their closer proximity. It was an even better view.

Dear God, she was whipped. This was downright embarrassing.

“Did you need something?” Adora asked, wiping sweat off her forehead with a white towel she had hanging from her waist.

Catra could have said no, could have said she just wanted to find out how much longer she’d be, could have said she was just checking in on her - but where was the fun in that?

“Oh, not really,” she purred, gently running a hand down Adora’s left arm. “I just came to admire the view.”

Adora’s face turned a brilliant shade of crimson - perfect. The intended effect. Catra had to resist the urge to smile triumphantly, somehow managing to keep a smirk on her face.

“So don’t stop on my account,” she concluded. “I can wait.”

Adora stared at her for a moment. “Well,” she finally said, “I was actually starting to feel kind of tired, so I was going to head back to our room. But if you want to admire the view for a little longer…” She gave Catra a wide grin. “I have an idea or two for how you could help me re-energize.”

Catra raised an eyebrow at her, praying that her tail flicking back and forth behind her wouldn’t give away her excitement. “Is that so?”

“Uh huh.”

“I mean, as your girlfriend I’m contractually obligated to help you in any way I can, right?”

“Exactly.”

Adora promptly lifted Catra off the ground, Catra wrapping her legs around her girlfriend’s waist in response. They’d captured each other’s lips even before Adora had managed to successfully push her girlfriend’s back against the wall - not that Catra was complaining. She could taste sweat on Adora’s lips, but in all honesty she was far more distracted by the solid muscle of Adora’s shoulders and the feel of Adora’s hands tightly holding on to her hips.

“You should come work out with me more often,” Adora mumbled as she pulled away for air before leaning back in to crash her lips against Catra’s for a second time.

Catra couldn’t help but smile back into the kiss. A smile that was maybe a little bit wicked, but mostly… mostly a little bit blissful.

Maybe she would join Adora in the gym again.

(Anything to see her in that _stupidly_ attractive shirt.)

2\. _adora is such an idiot, and catra loves her for it_

As brilliant as Adora could be, she was also _such_ an idiot. And Catra said this with all the fondness in the world.

“Adora, you need to take a break and _relax_!”

Catra had to bite back a laugh at the guilty expression on her girlfriend’s face as Glimmer continued to fuss at her.

“I - I _have_ relaxed. Some,” Adora started to protest, but Glimmer was having none of it.

“You cannot fool me, Adora. I bet you don’t even know the meaning of relaxation!” She glared at her, though there was more frustration than anger behind it. “Letting me into your life may have been the _worst_ mistake you’ve ever made. Why? Because I refuse to let you work yourself to the bone, as you so clearly intend to do!” Glimmer paused, taking several deep breaths in an obvious attempt to calm down.” “Okay. You are banned from all princess meetings until further notice. You need a real, genuine _break_. What kind of queen am I if I let you overextend yourself?!”

Catra didn’t miss the way her girlfriend flinched at Glimmer’s final comment.

“Yeah,” she heard Adora mutter begrudgingly. “That’s what Perfuma said, too.”

Her eyes narrowed. She hadn’t known Adora was going to see Perfuma. Why would she have kept that from her?

Glimmer’s expression softened. “I just want you to look out for yourself as much as you look out for everyone else, okay?” She snapped her fingers. “Catra, come get your girlfriend and take her elsewhere so I can finish preparing for this council without her going into cardiac arrest, please and thank you.”

Catra chuckled, swinging her feet off the table and jumping out of her chair. “Sure thing, Sparkles.” She crossed over to Adora, taking her girlfriend’s hand. “Come on, dummy. Let’s get out of here.”

Adora looked like she wanted to argue, but then appeared to accept her fate and reluctantly allowed Catra to drag her out.

“Want to go back to our room?” Catra offered when they were about halfway down the hall, since she realized that she hadn’t been leading her girlfriend anywhere in particular - just _away_ from Glimmer and the other princesses soon to arrive.

Adora sighed. “Yeah,” she said, a small pout creasing her lips. “I guess so.”

Her frustration was almost obnoxiously endearing.

“Glimmer’s right, you know,” Catra pointed out as they began making their way to their bedroom. “You need to learn how to take a break before you implode.”

“But if I take a break, that means someone else is going to have to work in my place -” Adora stopped abruptly, clamping her mouth shut so hard Catra was concerned she might fracture her jaw. “No, you guys are right. I should take a break.”

Catra raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend’s… well, rather strange reaction, but chose not to comment on it. At least, not directly. “You know, you never told me you were going to see Perfuma, too.” She wasn’t hurt, per se, by the fact that Adora hadn’t told her. It had taken her several weeks to admit that she’d started meeting with Perfuma, thus she fully understood this kind of thing could be personal, and she never wanted Adora to feel pressured to tell her anything that she wasn’t comfortable with.

Adora flushed. “I… yeah. Once a week. I - I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry about me.” She held the bedroom door open for Catra and closed it behind the both of them. “I also didn’t want to distract you from your own goals that you’re working on with Perfuma.”

Catra rolled her eyes. Typical selfless Adora - too much so for her own good. “You idiot. You’re not a distraction.” She pressed a soft kiss to her girlfriend’s jaw. “Most of the time.”

“Flirt,” Adora mumbled, though Catra noticed she didn’t hesitate to kiss her forehead in response.

“So,” Catra continued, jumping up onto their bed, “since we’ve both been meeting and working with Perfuma, why don’t we do some meditation? That could be a good start to helping you relax.”

Adora climbed onto the bed across from her girlfriend. “About that,” she said as she moved her legs to sit criss-cross, her face dusted pink with embarrassment. “I may… not be able to meditate. Like, at all. I’m completely incapable.”

Catra blinked. “What?”

Adora’s blush deepened. “I mean, I’ve _tried_ to meditate, but - ugh, it’s like my brain just can’t stop thinking _thoughts_!”

Catra bit her tongue in an attempt to stifle her laughter - an attempt met with little success. “Right. Thinking thoughts, as opposed to thinking… something else?”

Adora groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Ugh. That’s exactly what I mean. I’m just bad at meditating and mental decluttering and relaxing and everything -”

“It’s okay!” Catra interrupted, placing her hand on Adora’s knee. “We don’t have to meditate. I’m sure we can figure out something else that we can _both_ do.”

Adora lifted her head, steely determination flicking in her eyes “No. I can do this.” She rested her hands on her knees, holding her fingers upwards in a manner not _too_ dissimilar to what Perfuma taught. “I will _make_ myself meditate.”

Catra didn’t have the heart to tell her that meditating was not usually accomplished with a mentality of force. In fact, it was almost always the opposite. But if Adora wanted to try… well, Catra could at least do her best to help her through it. “Okay,” she agreed, situating herself into her preferred position to meditate before closing her eyes. “Then let’s start with some breathing exercises.”

Now, Catra knew she had nowhere near the expertise nor the experience of Perfuma, but she thought she did a pretty good job of walking Adora through basic meditation techniques, mostly the breathing exercises. During the two-minute period of silence afterwards, she couldn’t resist the temptation to open an eye and check on how her girlfriend was doing.

Oh. Er… ‘not well’ was the answer.

Adora’s eyebrows were furrowed, her nose was scrunched, her eyes were squeezed shut, and the tip of her tongue was sticking out of the corner of her mouth - undeniably kind of cute. Her expression was that of complete, intense concentration, and her entire body was riddled with tension as a result.

It was… a pretty ridiculous sight.

At the same time… she was so beautiful, silly as Catra knew that sounded. She just couldn’t help but be reminded of how much she loved that absolute doofus.

“Okay, you dummy,” Catra said, her voice gentle though amused. “This clearly is not working for you.”

“Um, no! This is - it’s working _great_!” Adora opened her eyes only to immediately encounter the dubious look Catra was giving her. “I - it’s working kind of great?”

Catra rolled her eyes. “Come here.” She patted the space beside her on the bed. “I have another idea.”

Adora immediately fell out of her meditation pose, looking so relieved it was almost comical. “Okay. Cool.” She moved next to her - notably much closer than Catra had indicated, but it wasn’t like Catra was going to complain about the universe’s subtle blessings.

Catra took Adora’s hair out of its ponytail, gently running her hands through it and massaging Adora’s scalp before leaning against the pillows propped up against the backboard of their bed, making sure to pull her girlfriend down with her. “Stay with me,” she whispered, leaning her head on Adora’s shoulder. “You can ‘think thoughts’ or whatever, and it’s okay if you can’t even get yourself to take a break on the inside. Just… stay.”

She could feel Adora begin to relax, and was unable to stop a happy purr from rumbling through her chest as her girlfriend locked their hands together and rested her head on top of Catra’s.

“Okay,” she heard Adora whisper. “Okay. I’ll stay.”

3\. _the dress isn’t what makes her gorgeous (but catra still likes how adora looks in it)_

Glimmer had decided that the only appropriate response to a month passing since the defeat of Horde Prime was to throw a _massive_ party. And while Catra had not initially been too thrilled about this idea, she’d quickly grown more fond of it when Bow had reminded her that they’d all have to dress up for it.

Including Adora.

And Catra was apparently easily swayed by the notion of her super hot girlfriend in a dress.

“Okay, Catra,” Glimmer announced as she pulled Adora over to a large closet. “Tell me what colors you’re wearing so I can pick an appropriate pairing for Adora.”

Catra frowned. “It’s a suit, Sparkles.”

Glimmer rolled her eyes. “Gee, thanks. I had no idea. Are you trying to tell me that it’s solid black or something?”

“I mean, no -”

“Exactly! So tell me the color scheme and then skedaddle so I can get Adora ready.”

Catra didn’t miss the way Adora was not-so-subtly snickering, and she made sure to stick her tongue out at her before addressing Glimmer. “It’s like, black, and… a sort of light blue, I guess?”

Glimmer clicked her tongue. “So it _is_ different from what you wore to Princess Prom. Noted. Would you say the blue is bright or pale?”

Catra was pretty sure her head was going to combust. They were just _clothes_. Why did she and Adora even have to match?

Actually, she was not totally opposed to the idea of everyone at the party knowing Adora was hers. So maybe it was better to just go along with Glimmer’s demands.

“Uh… Kind of a pale blue,” she said, thinking back to the dress shirt Bow had helped her pick out. A blue that she totally hadn’t chosen because it was the same color as Adora’s eyes. Definitely not. That’d be gross and sappy, and she was _not_ those things.

Glimmer nodded. “Affirmative.” She studied her closet a moment longer before crossing over to the other side of the room where Catra was standing and grabbing her hands. “Let’s get you out of here.”

“Sparkles, if you _dare_ -”

She dared.

Catra collapsed to her knees after being teleported back into her bedroom, trying not to dry heave. “I am going to _kill_ you.”

To her credit, Glimmer did appear to feel guilty about her friend’s current state. “I know, I’m sorry. It was the fastest way to get you out!” She then winked at her. “But I promise you’ll forgive me once you see Adora. Deal?”

“Glimmer -”

And… already too late. She’d immediately vanished in a cloud of sparkles, giving her no time to answer. Of course.

“No deal,” Catra grumbled under her breath, forcing herself to stand up as her nausea gradually faded.

It turned out that Glimmer wasn’t wrong, though. Catra _did_ forgive her after seeing Adora. It just wasn’t at the time that Glimmer had predicted this forgiveness would occur.

This wasn’t to say that Adora wasn’t the most stunning person at the party, because she definitely was. Catra had immediately forgotten how words worked when she’d first seen her, much to Adora’s amusement. Still, Sparkles had really outdone herself in dressing up Adora - undoubtedly with extensive resistance from Adora herself - and Catra couldn’t but feel a twinge of regret that she’d missed those incredibly amusing interactions.

Glimmer had chosen a flowing, backless dress for Adora, with a slit up the left side - really, she knew Catra’s tastes so well it was embarrassing. Which Catra would never admit to the queen’s face. The dress was the correct shade of pale blue where it brought out the color in Adora’s eyes as well as matched Catra’s own attire perfectly. Glimmer had also pulled Adora’s hair up in a bun, that accomplishment made even more impressive by the fact that she’d somehow _curled_ it, too.

All in all, an insanely good look for Adora.

So yeah. Catra may or may not have been rendered speechless upon seeing Adora - which Adora really had been _way_ too pleased about, with that stupid smugness on her stupidly good-looking face - and Catra also may or may not have taken immense joy from the jealous stares she was sent at Glimmer’s party as she walked around with Adora at her side.

Nonetheless, it was _after_ the party that Catra found herself truly overwhelmed by the presence of her girlfriend.

“Oh, bed sweet bed,” Adora moaned, collapsing face-first onto her pillow. “How I missed you.”

Catra snorted at the exaggerated reaction. “You’re the most ridiculous person I have ever met.”

Adora mumbled something in response, but her words were completely swallowed by the pillow she still had her face buried in.

“Uh huh,” Catra said, amused, as she undid her bowtie. “No clue what you just said, but I’m sure it was some form of denial, so you can keep telling yourself that.”

Adora rolled over so she was lying on her back, her limbs splayed out in a manner not unlike a starfish. “I said no, _you’re_ the most ridiculous person you’ve ever met.”

Catra tossed her bowtie down on the vanity before turning around to flick on a lamp near their bed. “If that’s the best response you could come up with, maybe you need to be checked for brain damage -” Her voice vanished in her throat as her gaze fell on Adora, her girlfriend practically glowing in the warm, golden light of the lamp - honestly, it wouldn’t have been an understatement to call her a goddess among mortals.

Her hair had long since fallen out of its bun and was now a mess of blonde waves lazily cascading down and across her pillow. Her dress had been pulled up, not _revealing_ anything, but reminding Catra that Adora could probably crush someone’s skull between her thighs.

But perhaps most striking of all was the sheer calm on Adora’s face. It was edged with an endearing exhaustion, but the most prominent emotion was that of peaceful, joyous contentment. And it was the most stunning thing Catra had ever seen.

“Catra?”

Adora’s concerned voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She knew her face had to be red - ugh, hopefully Adora couldn’t tell in the dim light of the room. “Hmm?”

“Are you okay?” She sat up on the bed, pushing her hair behind her ears. “You kinda cut yourself off out of nowhere.”

Catra paused, then joined her girlfriend in bed and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Sorry. I just got caught up in how good you look.” She smirked at her. “Really, it’s amazing I ever manage to get out a complete sentence. You’re just _that_ gorgeous.”

Catra was pleased to note that Adora’s face had turned a deep shade of pink. Heh. She loved seeing her girlfriend get flustered.

“Ugh. I hate you.”

“Psh, no you don’t. You love me.”

An almost disgustingly sappy smile formed on Adora’s lips, and Catra would be lying if she said that look of pure adoration didn’t make her melt inside. “Yeah,” Adora hummed contentedly, resting her head on Catra’s shoulder. “Yeah, I do.”

4\. _being with adora is the best gift catra could ever receive_

“Happy birthday, Catra!”

Catra hissed at the sudden exclamation, springing into the air with her claws and teeth bared as Adora, Glimmer, and Bow each jumped out of different hiding spots in her room - _her_ room, even though she spent far more of her time in Adora’s - and none of them even bothered to look _guilty_.

“What the hell, guys,” she growled, clenching her hands into fists and glaring at them. “I _told_ you that I didn’t want a party!”

“And we listened,” Glimmer said, beaming at her. “Please note: no streamers, no decorations, no guests.”

“No overbearing and obnoxious music,” Bow added. “There’s only five gifts - one from each of us, plus Scorpia and Perfuma.”

“ _And_ a brand new RuneFlix system! Installed by me thank to instructions provided by Entrapta.” Adora winced. “Although I did drop some stuff that probably shouldn’t have been dropped, so sometimes it takes a minute to turn on. But it works!”

“Thus, there is no party,” Glimmer concluded.

Catra was still suspicious. “If there’s no party, why were you all hiding and waiting to jump out and surprise me?”

“Because it’s hilarious when you act… well, like a cat,” Glimmer said, rolling her eyes. “Obviously.”

“Hilarious _and_ adorable!” Bow squealed, beaming at her.

Catra could feel her ears flattening to her head in embarrassment. “I am _not_ -”

“Nuh uh,” Adora interrupted, silencing her with a dramatic wave of her hand. “You didn’t let us finish.” She nodded to Glimmer, who gave her an appreciative smile.

“Thank you. As I was saying” - she pointed at Catra - “you didn’t want a party. Fair enough. We’re not going to force you to have one. Instead, to celebrate your birthday, you get to spend the entire evening relaxing in your room and binging stuff on RuneFlix with no one interrupting you. Even better, you get to do it all with your _amazing_ girlfriend, whose idea this was in the first place. You don’t even have to open your gifts if you’re not feeling like it!”

Adora blushed at the attribution, but she still gave Catra a happy smile.

Catra immediately felt the stiffness drain from her shoulders. She’d fallen so far for Adora there was no climbing out, was there? Not that she’d ever want to. “Huh. I guess you guys do know me.”

Bow nodded, grinning at her. “Uh, yeah we do. Which is why Glimmer and I will be taking our leave as of right now.”

Glimmer gave her a wink and a thumbs up. “Let us know if you like our presents!” she said cheerfully before grabbing Bow’s hand and teleporting them away with a burst of glittery magic.

Catra paused, then made her way over to where her five gifts were stacked, idly fingering the blue ribbon of the one on top before turning around to face Adora, who was still standing in the middle of the room. “So you _really_ came up with this for me?”

Adora flushed, then crossed her arms over her chest and mock-glared at her girlfriend. “Wow. Do you really think so little of my intelligence?”

Catra laughed, stepping forward to rest her arms on top of Adora’s shoulders and gently looping them around the back of her neck. “Don’t you dare put words in my mouth. I just can’t believe you’d do something like this… for me.”

“Please,” Adora scoffed. “I kind of _saved the world_ for you. I think throwing you a not-party is well within my abilities, so…”

“So I should never doubt you ever again?” Catra finished, amused. She stood on her toes to press a kiss to her girlfriend’s cheek. “Got it.”

They ended up lying side by side on the bed, with Catra’s head resting comfortably on Adora’s chest with Adora’s arm wrapped around her shoulders while they argued about what to watch.

“You’re telling me you’re _not_ interested in a movie about three really good-looking women working for an international, top secret spy organization who have to save the world?”

Catra snorted. “I _told_ you to stop putting words in my mouth, dummy. I just said that it’s my birthday, therefore it’s my choice, and I want to check out all the other options first before we decide.”

They ended up watching that movie.

Catra, however, kept finding herself getting distracted by Adora’s stupidly cute face, like the way her nose would scrunch up when something serious happened and how her eyes would widen at even the most predictable parts.

Adora ended up pausing the movie about halfway through. “Are you… having fun?” she asked slowly, pushing Catra’s bangs out of her face.

Catra looked up at her girlfriend, unable to fight down the purr rumbling in the back of her throat. “Of course I am, dummy.” She reached up to cup Adora’s face, and though the angle was awkward and her hand was… er, the wrong way around, it still seemed like a perfect fit. “I’m with you.”

And then Adora smiled - a radiant expression that lit up her face far more than the glow of the screen in her room ever could. God, her girlfriend’s smile still sent butterflies fluttering through her stomach like it was some embarrassing cadet-crush.

She loved Adora. She loved her madly, extravagantly, absurdly - _and she’d be damned if Adora ever found out_.

(But really… She supposed she already had.)

5\. _good night, sweet princess (or, catra’s first night at bright moon as she learns a lesson of love)_

The bed was some tortuous combination of a beanbag and a giant marshmallow. Or so went Catra’s assessment. It had tried to _eat_ her when she’d first sat on it! And she’d sunk in so deep it had nearly suffocated her. Clearly the bed was a dangerous monster determined to kill its victims slowly.

The ‘pajamas’, or whatever they were called, that she’d been given only added to her discomfort. They were well-intentioned, really, but they were just too… loose-fitting. They seemed to exacerbate the space around her rather than pulling her close and grounding her. Worse, the material was just way silkier and softer than anything she was used to. In other words, she’d promptly stripped herself of them and wore only her gray sports bra and shorts. Which, admittedly, uncomfortably reminded her of Horde Prime, but at least that wasn’t the _only_ memory there was associated with them.

There was also Adora. Adora, checking in on Catra every other minute on the ship, much to her verbal irritation and silent gratitude. Adora, unceremoniously shoving Catra off the bed when she was being stubborn. Adora, insisting that she had _never hated her_. Adora, holding Catra tightly and simply being there as she looked into the hive mind of Horde Prime.

Adora, staying.

She-Ra, leaving.

Catra absent-mindedly wondered if Adora was still awake. Probably not - she’d had eons of time to get used to Bright Moon’s obnoxiously cushy beds and was likely exhausted from the day’s events. But maybe she could… no. If Adora was asleep, Catra had no right to wake her up.

Sneaking in silently, however… Well, Catra had honed _that_ particular ability extensively while she was in the Horde.

While Catra was admittedly uncertain of whether or not she’d be able to sneak in without disturbing Adora at least once, she _definitely_ had not expected to arrive at Adora’s bedroom and then have the door open and nearly smack her in the nose before coming face to face with her girlfriend.

(Girlfriend. They were dating now, right? That was how it worked when people professed their undying love for each other and saved the world with a kiss, wasn’t it?)

For a minute, neither spoke, just staring at each other.

“Well, this is awkward,” Catra stammered, spinning on her heel and walking away. “I’m just gonna go back to my room -”

“No, wait!” Adora exclaimed, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards her to where they stood only inches apart. “You can, uh…” She flushed, averting her gaze. “You can come in. And we can… you can sleep here. Tonight. If you want.”

Her last sentence was a hasty addition, a reminder that Adora would never want her to do anything that she wasn’t comfortable with and that Adora was so _damn_ selfless.

Catra knew she had to be blushing, too. “Do you… _want_ me to stay?”

Adora’s face turned a darker crimson - if that was even possible - and she nodded.

And if _that_ wasn’t enough to fill Catra with a sickeningly sweet sense of satisfaction, the way Adora slipped her hand into hers as they walked together into Adora’s bedroom certainly did.

They then climbed onto Adora’s bed, and Catra was relieved to note that this mattress did not try to swallow her whole. It was firmer, though nowhere near as hard as the probably-literal stone beds from the Horde, and definitely a little easier to get accustomed to. Not to mention there was now the familiarity of being able to curl up at Adora’s feet.

“If you want,” Adora began, a rare hesitance and odd anxiousness to her voice, “you can sleep next to me.”

_If you want_. She’d saved the world only hours earlier and still was willing to put everyone else before herself.

“Do _you_ want me to sleep next to you?” Catra asked, again flipping her girlfriend’s question on its head.

Adora rolled her eyes. “Really?”

“Yes, _really_.”

Adora sighed, and Catra saw a resigned look in her eyes that was soon replaced by a mixture of amusement and enamoration. “Okay. Yes, I do want you to sleep next to me, so get over here before I drag you by the tail.”

Catra grimaced at the thought. “I’m pretty sure that’s not how most people get their partners into bed with them, but I guess we’ve never had a very traditional relationship.”

Adora giggled - _giggled_ \- as she held up the covers to allow Catra to slide beneath them next her. “No, we definitely have not.”

Then quiet fell. They were both lying on their side, gazing contentedly at the other in blissful peace.

During this silence, Catra was convinced - or reminded, really - that Adora was the most beautiful person in the universe. And that was a fact, not just her opinion. But if she was being honest… She couldn’t even put a finger on what, exactly, it was that made Adora so inexplicably beautiful.

It wasn’t the moonlight flickering through the curtains in slivers, though Adora did seem to shine a glowing silver as a result. It wasn’t that for once she was wearing her hair down, even if Catra did adore the way it was displayed on the pillow and fell messily over her bare shoulders. It wasn’t even that lying so close to her girlfriend Catra could see every single mark that adorned her face - the tiny scar on the bridge of her nose, the just-healed cut on her bottom lip, the stark contrast of her dark eyebrows to her light hair.

Catra didn’t know why Adora was so beautiful. But did she need to?

(Maybe. Yes. She w _anted_ to.)

“You have freckles,” Adora blurted suddenly, snapping Catra out of her reverie.

She raised an eyebrow at the comment. “You’ve known me since before we could talk, and you’re just now realizing that I have freckles? Ouch.”

Adora flushed. “No, that is _not_ what I meant.” She gently flicked Catra’s nose. “You need to stop assuming the worst. Be more optimistic.”

Catra snorted. “Bow and Scorpia have enough optimism to count for all of Etheria. I think I’m okay.”

Adora laughed. “Don’t forget Perfuma.”

“There you go. Three is a magic number, right? So that means I’m allowed to be a realist.”

“At least that’s a step up from pessimism.”

“Gee, thanks.” Her voice lacked any real sarcasm. “Then… what did you mean?”

“Hmm?”

“About my freckles, you idiot.”

“Oh! Oh, right.” Adora chewed her bottom lip as she reached out to push Catra’s hair away from her face, and Catra would have been a liar if she said she didn’t shiver at the touch. “You’ve just… never let me get so close before. Not for this long, anyways.” She offered her a soft smile. “I can count them now.”

Catra knew she was blushing, and tried to cover it up with a dry quip. “Right. Because counting freckles is something all normal people do.”

Adora laughed. “Shut up! You know what I meant.”

Catra found herself laughing, too. “Yeah, yeah. Sure.” She then moved slightly closer to Adora, taking the initiative to intertwine their legs together and absolutely _revelling_ in the way her girlfriend’s heart rate skyrocketed. “Well, I do have good news for you. There’s nothing stopping us from being as close as we want.” She paused. “Not anymore.”

Adora’s face was so pink it would have been comical had Catra not found it _so freaking cute_. “Ugh,” she grumbled, grabbing Catra and pulling her into her chest, hugging her tightly and resting her chin on her girlfriend’s head. “I love you so much, Catra. I feel like I’m going to explode.”

And then it hit her.

_Love_.

The most obvious answer in the world, but the answer nonetheless. Adora was so beautiful, so beautiful _to Catra_ , because everything about her radiated _love_. And finally… finally Catra was allowed to be on the receiving end of it.

“Well, don’t do that,” she muttered, burying her face in Adora’s chest and blinking back tears as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and returned her hug with as much strength as she could muster. “Because I love you, too.”

She always had.

\+ 1. _adora didn’t need that shirt, anyway_

“What’s taking her so long?” Adora muttered, a familiar sense of worry bubbling in her chest. “She said she’d be back like, 10 minutes ago!” And now _11_ minutes had passed. Something was clearly wrong.

“Oh, I saw Catra on my way down!” Scorpia said cheerfully. “She was storming out of her room. I think I heard her saying something about needing new pajamas?”

Adora pursed her lips. That at least provided an explanation for Catra’s delay.

But still. It was normal to be concerned for her girlfriend, wasn’t it?

Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait much longer for Catra’s arrival. If more than five minutes had passed, Adora probably would have gone off to hunt her down herself.

“Sorry I’m late,” Catra said as she walked in, boasting a new set of pajamas - exactly as Scorpia had said. She wore maroon shorts and a white crop top with the sleeves torn off.

There was something oddly familiar about that shirt… Adora just couldn’t figure out what.

“Don’t worry!” Perfuma said, beaming at her. “You didn’t miss anything! RuneFlix is still booting up.”

The four all piled onto the couch, and Adora promptly pulled Catra onto her lap, snickering at her girlfriend’s startled “mrp!” as well as the disgruntled glare that followed. She was then pleased to note that Catra soon found a comfortable position before she proceeded to lean back into her chest, thereby allowing Adora to wrap her arms around her girlfriend’s waist and close any remaining distance between them.

“So what movie are we watching?” Catra asked, nodding a thank you to Perfuma as she accepted a bucket of popcorn from her.

“We haven’t decided yet. But I’m okay with pretty much anything!” Scorpia said, placing her arm around Perfuma’s shoulders as her girlfriend cuddled next to her. “Just as long as it won’t make me cry.”

“I was hoping for a documentary, but I know that’s a taste very specific to me,” Perfuma said with a giggle, “so I am also open to suggestions.”

“I like your nature documentaries, too,” Scorpia protested, albeit pretty unconvincingly, though the attempt earned her a peck on the cheek from Perfuma.

“It’s okay, Scorpia. You don’t have to pretend.”

“I… oh, alright.” Scorpia had gone red from the kiss. “But we can watch them at Plumeria whenever you want.”

Perfuma giggled again. “I appreciate that.”

“Wow,” Catra said wryly, tossing a piece of popcorn into her mouth as she watched their interaction with amusement. “You guys are so cute I might throw up.”

Adora bit back a laugh as Scorpia and Perfuma both blushed, though Catra’s statement was probably a bit hypocritical. She was literally sitting in her lap, after all.

Catra must have been able to read her thoughts, because her tail popped up out of nowhere and promptly flicked Adora’s nose.

Fair enough.

After less than five minutes of scrolling through the options RuneFlix had to offer, they managed to decide on a movie: _Wonder Woman_.

Adora had a feeling Scorpia was going to cry at the ending.

For the most part, they all stayed focused on the film. Every now and then Adora had to shift Catra on her lap to make sure blood was still flowing to her toes, but other than that there was little to no motion or discussion within the group.

At one point, Adora moved Catra to put slightly less weight on her left leg, and her gaze coincidentally levelled with her girlfriend’s shoulder.

Wait a second… She knew that stain. It was from a weird superglue that Bow had accidentally gotten on the back of her shirt when one of his in-development sticky arrows had misfired.

Was… was Catra wearing her clothes?

Adora could feel her face heating up.

_That was so freaking cute._

Somehow, _somehow_ , she managed to wait until after the movie had ended and they were heading back up to their bedroom to ask Catra about it.

“You know, something about that shirt looks _really_ familiar,” Adora said, biting her bottom lip to stop herself from grinning. “Have I seen it somewhere before, by any chance?”

Catra groaned. “Ugh. Please stop. You’re a terrible actor.” She crossed her arms over her chest, staring stubbornly at the ground. “Yes, I did steal your shirt because I hate Bright Moon’s stupid pajamas and because your clothes smell like you. I also tore it up so you can’t try to take it back. Happy now?”

Adora could feel her expression softening, and she pressed a kiss to her girlfriend’s forehead. “Duh. If you’re happy, then I’m happy.” She winked at her. “Besides - it looks better on you, anyways.”

Catra snorted, slipping her hand into Adora’s as they continued making their way to the bedroom. “Obviously.”

“I have some other shirts you can steal, if you want.”

“First of all, by offering you ruin the fun of _taking_. Second, now you’re just being possessive and trying to show everyone I’m yours by having me wear your clothes.”

“Well, it’s not my fault you look so good in them.”

“Ugh, you’re so embarrassing.”

“So what I’m hearing is yes, you _do_ want more of my clothes.”

There was a long pause. Then Catra sighed. “Maybe.”

Adora gently squeezed her girlfriend’s hand. “Trust me. I don’t need half of my wardrobe, anyways.” And she was more than happy to share her clothes with Catra if it meant other people would get to see her girlfriend wearing them.

_Was_ she being a little possessive? Eh. Probably. But did she care?

Not in the slightest.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: my birthday is tomorrow, and the best present you lovely readers could give me is supporting your local, black-owned businesses/restaurants; buying and reading books on racial injustice and white supremacy; and continuing to support the BLM movement in any ways you can. (if you are financially struggling and therefore have limited options, i totally understand. just do whatever you are able.)
> 
> thank you for reading!


	9. blurred lines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to do a thing before most chapters where I'll list one or two "action items" or some questions to think about regarding BLM, LGBT+ rights, women's rights (intersectional feminism only), etc. You can skip over them if you'd like, because I understand that fanfiction can be an escape/break from reality for some people, but that doesn't mean these issues stop existing. They are of the utmost importance, so I encourage you to at least skim the items, or even come back to them after you read; I promise, it'll only be a couple things! :) For today:
> 
> 1\. Follow @ soyouwanttotalkabout on Instagram (excellent infographics regarding a variety of social issues that are easy to digest if you're easily overwhelmed by statistical information!)
> 
> 2\. Read So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (I've just started and it is SO. INFORMATIVE.)
> 
> now a couple story notes: this is more of the Iron Man AU! i had quite a few people tell me they enjoyed it and i knew i wanted to write more so i did, this time from catra's perspective.
> 
> note: if you did not like the Iron Man AU, feel free to skip this chapter! that's totally okay, you won't hurt my feelings.
> 
> anyways, thank you to all of you who continue to leave lovely comments on this story! y'all are the best and i love you :)
> 
> HI = Horde Industries

~*~

“Catra! I need your help!”

Adora’s voice was filled with panic discernible even through the static of the intercom, and Catra immediately dropped the paperwork she was annotating to rush out of her office and practically fly down the stairs leading into the lab. She discarded her shoes as she ran, as the heels only slowed her down.

“Light Hope, that door had better be unlocked and open!” she shouted as she jumped down the last set of steps, ignoring the jarring feeling of her feet slamming into the concrete floor. The AI thankfully had the sense not to argue with her, and Catra was able to race into the lab without issue.

Adora - or She-Ra, technically - was standing in the middle of the room with a look of abject terror on her face, while her entire body radiated a brilliant shade of sky blue.

“Uh, what the hell is going on?” Catra demanded, finding herself taking a wary step backwards at the sight. She-Ra unnerved her. Especially the way her eyes glowed.

“I can’t transform back!” Ugh. Even more unnerving was the way Adora’s voice left She-Ra’s mouth, still edged with panic. “Help me! Please!”

“‘Help you’?” Catra repeated incredulously. “Adora, what on Etheria do you expect me to do?!”

Adora flailed her arms helplessly, waving the giant sword so frantically that Catra couldn’t help but be concerned she might accidentally let go of it and thus fling it at her, which sounded… less than appealing, to put it lightly. “I don’t know! Something! Anything!”

“I’m sorry, but eight-foot-tall, giant, magical warrior princesses are  _not_ within my realm of expertise,” Catra snapped. “Just - Just think Adora thoughts! Not She-Ra thoughts.”

“Aargh! Catra, I  _am_ She-Ra!” Adora argued, the blue aura around her brightening in intensity and causing Catra to wince. “There is no separate mindset that I shift into! I’m still me!”

“Well, maybe you need to figure out a way to separate yourself from her!” Catra groaned, dragging a hand through her hair. “Dammit, Adora! Helping you detransform wasn’t exactly in my job description when I applied.”

“This isn’t about your job!” Adora said incredulously, taking a step towards Catra, who would have been lying if she said she didn’t flinch at the motion. “ _Please_ , Catra. You’re the only person I trust to help me.”

The panic in her voice rose an increment with every word, as did the intensity of the blinding blue glow surrounding her, to the point where Catra could no longer look at her directly.

“I’m - I’m not qualified for this,” she protested weakly, shielding her eyes and using every ounce of willpower in her body to keep herself from moving several feet backwards. Showing how nervous she was to Adora would  _not_ help de-escalate the scenario.

“Catra, you are the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I know! And I don’t - I don’t know what  _I_ would do without you.  _Please_ . If there’s - If there’s  _anything_ you can do. Because - Because I’m completely freaking out right now and I feel like I’m stuck and I’m, I’m like paralyzed and my chest hurts and -”

“Okay!” Catra interrupted, pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to even out her own breathing. Both of them panicking would do no good. God, there was no way she was getting paid enough for this. “Okay. Start - Start by putting down that stupid sword.”

Adora immediately did as instructed, and the blue aura around her faded slightly as she completed the motion. “Now what?” she asked, sounding considerably more composed.

“Uh… take some deep breaths,” Catra suggested, feeling calm enough to take a step closer to her. “Ground yourself. And tell me - tell me five things you can see.”

The icy blue eyes of She-Ra swept around the lab, and Catra did her best to pretend that action didn’t send an uncomfortable chill down her spine. “You. My sword. A screwdriver. My - My work clothes. And… your shoes.”

Right. Catra had kicked off her shoes as she’d run down the stairs. “You’re doing great. Now four things you can touch.” She was also relieved to note that the bright blue aura around She-Ra had almost disappeared entirely by this point, though Adora was still definitively She-Ra and not… herself.

Adora then slowly sat down on a stool in front of one of her worktables. “This chair.” She touched her forehead. “She-Ra’s weird crown-thing.” She reached out, taking Catra’s hand in hers. “You.”

Catra could feel herself blushing. Adora’s stupidly soft voice combined with the way She-Ra’s hand dwarfed her own… God, she deserved one hell of a raise. “That’s only three things, dummy.”

“Right. Uh…” Adora reached back with her free hand to grab the edge of the table. “This workstation.”

Catra exhaled slowly. “Yep. Nice job.” She chewed her bottom lip as she tried to remember what was next in the sequence. ‘Taste’ was last, she knew. So was ‘hear’ third? Or was it ‘smell’? Crap. She just needed to pick one -

Catra was jolted out of her thoughts by Adora shrinking to a much smaller and less blonde-r person in her peripheral vision, and she could feel her blush deepen as Adora intertwined their fingers together and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

“Thank you,” she breathed, relief evident in her tone. “I wouldn’t have gotten out of that without your help.”

Catra shrugged, adamantly avoiding eye contact with her. “It’s no problem. Just doing my job.”

Adora chuckled, shaking her head. “No, you were right. Helping me calm down enough to detransform out of being She-Ra is  _not_ in your job description.”

Catra shrugged again, pulling her hand out of Adora’s before taking a step backwards and smoothing down her blouse. “Again. No big deal.” She took a slow breath before continuing. “If that is all you needed from me, do I have permission to return to my office?”

Something akin to disappointment flickered in Adora’s eyes, but Catra pretended she hadn’t seen it, ignoring the pang that shot through her heart as a result. “Right. Yes, of course. You’re dismissed.”

“Thank you.” Catra grabbed her shoes from where they’d bounced down the stairs, pausing to pull them onto her feet before making her way over to the glass door that led out of the lab.

“Catra?”

She froze with one foot outside and with one hand on the doorframe, though she didn’t turn around. “Yes?”

“I -” Adora faltered, and Catra could practically picture her reaching out only to slowly pull her hand back. “You’re all I have, you know.”

Catra’s grip on the doorframe tightened, her heart seizing in her chest. How was she supposed to respond to that?

With the truth?

Like hell. She’d never have the guts.

“I need to go,” was all she said before heading out the lab, disappearing up the stairs as she walked back to her office.

_Coward_ .

~*~

Catra’s eyes widened as she caught sight of a familiar, almost obnoxiously distinctive blonde hair poof. “Adora?!” she hissed, successfully catching the girl’s attention - for better or for worse.

“Catra,” Adora said with a sigh of relief as she crossed the room towards her, who resisted the urge to facepalm. “I was worried I wouldn’t know anyone here. Like, actually know them.”

“You don’t,” Catra snapped. “Because you’re my boss, so you don’t ‘actually know’ me. We can’t be friends. Especially not  _here_ .”

Adora rolled her eyes. “Catra, come on -”

Catra held up a hand to silence her. “Excuse me, but I don’t think I was finished.” She did her best to ignore how damn gorgeous Adora looked in the red dress she was wearing. She also silently berated herself for choosing such a low-cut blouse to go with her suit. In her defense, though, she hadn’t known Adora was going to - to freaking show up out of the blue! “What the hell are you doing here?!”

Adora rolled her eyes again. “I got sick of Shadow Weaver telling me to stay out of the spotlight. I know my own limits.”

Catra was fairly certain Adora did  _not_ know her own limits, but she understood the need to get away from Shadow Weaver’s suffocating persona, and thus didn’t comment. But she also noticed the peculiar look that flickered in Adora’s eyes at the mention of Shadow Weaver, though it disappeared before she could put a finger on what emotion it was. All she knew was that it had not been frustration or rage - a shame, really, because those were feelings towards Shadow Weaver she herself could certainly empathize with. “I guess that’s understandable.” She glanced around them, relieved to note that no one appeared to be paying much attention to them.

Yet. It was only a matter of time before someone got too nosy. They needed to blend in.

She offered Adora her hand. “Dance with me?”

Adora’s face turned pink - or maybe it was just a trick of the light - but she accepted Catra’s hand. “Sure.”

Catra led her towards the middle of the floor, where people would be more tightly packed around them. If Adora noticed that she was holding her more closely than necessary, she didn’t comment. Catra didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. “So… you’re here to escape Shadow Weaver,” she finally said, placing a hand on Adora’s hip and gently swaying to the soft jazz floating through the room.

Adora immediately broke eye contact with her, a telltale sign that she was about to lie or provide only a half-truth. “Yes.”

Catra rolled her eyes. “Okay, that’s obviously not the whole story. I can tell you’re hiding something. So spill it.”

“I - I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Catra spun her outwards with the music, their hands locked together. “You can’t fool me, Adora.” She then spun herself inwards, to where her back rested against Adora’s chest. She didn’t fail to notice the several inches in height that Adora had on her. “You know you’re a terrible liar.”

A guilty expression flashed across Adora’s face. “Okay,” she admitted. “There might be something else going on.” She turned around, back into their original dancing position, where they swayed to the music face to face. “But… I can’t tell you. Yet. Honestly… I’ll probably need your help later.”

Adora’s evasiveness had Catra wary. “Need help from me as your secretary, or as your lackey?”

Adora simply stared at her. “As a friend.”

“Yeah, right,” Catra scoffed, pretending she wasn’t blushing. “No ordinary employee could ever be friends with their boss.”

“As if  _you’ve_ ever been an ordinary employee. But I can fire you, if that would help take the edge off.”

Catra knew it was a joke, but she could still feel her heart anxiously skip a beat. “Firing me is… to put it simply, the worst idea you’ve ever had. You said yourself that you need me,” she replied coolly, doing her best to play off her nerves in as casual a fashion as possible. “I don’t think you could make it a day without me, to be honest.”

Adora laughed. “Come on. I’d give myself at least a week.”

“Oh, really?” Catra dropped her into a dip, the sudden burst of confidence flooding through her body no doubt the result of an adrenaline rush. “What’s your social security number?”

Adora blanched, and after a long pause she said, “Five?”

Catra snickered as she pulled her back up. “You’re missing just a couple of digits there.”

“I mean, only the other eight.”

A peaceful silence fell between them, though the room was still filled with the smooth jazz and idle chatter that danced through the air.

Then Catra remembered where they were, who she was, who Adora was to  _her_ , and she abruptly released the girl and took a hasty step back. “I need some air,” she said stiffly before stalking across the room and out of a pair of glass doors onto a balcony. She didn’t know whether to be aggravated or pleased by the fact that Adora followed her.

“You okay?” Adora asked, concerned, as they both leaned against railing.

Catra nodded, not feeling like her voice could handle a response at the moment. God, what had she been  _thinking_ , asking Adora to dance with her like that? If anyone from HI had seen them, or worse, if  _Shadow Weaver_ found out… She’d be done for.

“You look great,” Adora said after a pause, a clear attempt to break the awkward silence that had befallen them.

“Thank you,” Catra muttered, her face reddening as she remembered the low cut of her blouse. “It was a birthday gift, actually.” Her gaze flickered up to meet Adora’s for a split second before she forced herself to look away. “From you.”

“Oh.” Adora’s voice was small. “Well… I have good taste.”

“That you do.” Catra froze when she felt a hand on her waist, and as she slowly turned around to face Adora it was near-impossible to focus on any thought other than how much she wanted to kiss her.

Adora leaned in, and Catra could hear her own voice hitch in her throat, eyes fluttering shut as she moved the tiniest distance closer to her where she could feel the warmth of Adora’s breath on her face and then…

Nothing.

Adora dropped her hand from Catra’s waist. “I - I have to go,” she whispered, a note of sorrow ringing so true in her voice that it hurt Catra to hear. Then she left the balcony and disappeared back into the crowd.

Catra turned away from where she’d gone, resting both of her arms on the railing after wiping away the hot tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.

Adora needed her, sure.

But Adora didn’t  _want_ her.

Not like she wanted Adora.

~*~

Catra wasn’t sure why she was going down to the lab. She knew Adora would be there, either transformed as She-Ra or messing around with different pieces of First Ones’ tech, neither of which Catra was interested in witnessing. Really, she’d be better off turning around and going back up to her office, before Adora could catch sight of her slowly walking down the stairs.

But she didn’t.

She entered the lab, pausing beside a worktable not far from the glass doors. Sure enough, Adora was standing at a different station, studying She-Ra’s sword that was held up by a plastic stand on either end as Light Hope scanned it from multiple angles. But she must have heard Catra enter - Catra had on shoes this time, which was probably why - because she turned around to give her an exhausted smile.

“Hey, Catra. You busy?”

Catra said nothing in response, unable to tear her gaze from the dark bags beneath Adora’s eyes. She knew Adora often had sleepless nights, but this…

“If you’re not busy, I need you to do me a favor.” Adora picked up a small device, slightly larger than a flash drive, and slid it towards her to the edge of the worktable that separated them. “Take this, and hook it up to the HI mainframe. You can use the computer in my old office.”

“Shadow Weaver’s office.” Catra could hear how hollow her voice sounded.

Adora grimaced. “Yeah.” She gestured to the device. “It’s First Ones’ tech, so HI security won’t be able to detect it. All you have to do is log into my account, and it will do the rest. Easy enough.”

Catra slowly walked over to the middle table, picking up the device with her right hand. It was heavier than she’d expected. “And what are you going to do with the information I bring back to you?”

Adora’s gaze hardened, and she turned back around to face She-Ra’s sword. “The same thing as before. I know they’re still manufacturing HI weapons, even though I shut it down. I know they’re using those weapons against innocent Etherians, not so-called ‘insurgents’. So I’ll find them, and I’ll stop them. Simple.”

“Adora…” Catra had to bite back a frustrated sigh. “Look. You know I would do anything for you, but I can’t… You can’t just start all of this again!” She gestured to the sword, anger boiling in her veins. “She-Ra? That’s not - this isn’t you, Adora!”

Adora crossed her arms over her chest as she turned to meet Catra’s gaze with an icy stare. Catra found herself frozen in place. “I  _am_ She-Ra, Catra. Nothing you do or say is going to change that.” Her grip on her arms tightened. “All there is… There is only the next mission. Nothing else. I was  _chosen_ for this responsibility. And I can’t just ignore it.”

Catra had never wanted to scream and cry and argue so badly in her entire life. She wanted to plead with Adora to  _stay_ , to knock some sense into her stupid blonde head, to beg her to stop acting like a hero and to just come back to her senses, but she knew it would all be in vain. “Fine.” She tossed the device back onto the worktable. “Then I quit.”

Adora’s eyes widened, and Catra took that as her cue to walk away before either of them could make things worse.

“You’re just going to  _leave_ ?”

Catra froze.

“We’ve been together our entire lives.” The anguish in Adora’s voice made Catra’s heart ache, and she slowly turned back towards her, though she made no move to grab the device. “You worked for -  _with_ me for years while I let innocent people get hurt under my name. And now that I want to  _protect_ those people, you’re just going to leave?”

Catra shook her head, swallowing the lump in her throat. “You’re going to kill yourself, Adora.” She wiped her eye with the base of her palm. “I don’t have to stay and watch that happen.”

Adora stared at her for a moment, then sank down onto a stool next to her workstation. “I shouldn’t be alive,” she whispered, her voice barely loud enough to be heard, “unless it was for a reason.” She glanced up at Catra, who felt her breath getting caught in her throat as she had to fight back more tears. “I’m not crazy, Catra. I just… finally know what I have to do. What only  _I_ can do. Who I am. My… My destiny. She-Ra.” She stared down at her palms. “And… I know in my heart that it’s right.”

Catra took in a shaky breath, her fists clenching at her sides. This  _idiot_ . This beautiful, caring, brilliant, self-destructive idiot.

It seemed like the only thing Catra would be able to do would be her damned best to ensure that Adora didn’t die while she tried to face her - her moronic destiny, or whatever. And she would never forgive herself if she failed at that.

She walked back over to the worktable between them, picking up the small First Ones’ device from where she’d tossed it down moments earlier. “You’re all I have, too, you know,” she said after a pause, her voice quiet.

Adora offered her a tiny smile - an expression of joy Catra hadn’t seen on the girl’s face in so long that she nearly wept at the sight of it. “As long as we have each other.”

Catra nodded, and they stared at each other for a moment longer before she excused herself, leaving the lab with the First Ones’ device in hand.

Catra had a job to do. A job she needed to complete for Adora’s sake.

And Adora was the one person she would  _never_ let down.

~*~


End file.
